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Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-22) @ San Diego Padres (14-26)
Pitching Probables: LAA — Dan Haren (1-4, 4.41 ERA) SD — Eric Stults (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Info: 7:05 PM PT; TV – Fox Sports West; Radio – KLAA 830
After last night’s picture perfect performance by Jered Weaver and the Angel offense, the stage is now set for Dan Haren to reclaim his co-ace status. Coming into the season, Haren was supposed to be the underrated one of the staff. So far, Jered Weaver has been remarkable, CJ Wilson has been better than advertised, Ervin Santana has been wildly inconsistent as usual, and Jerome Williams has been a solid number five. What was supposed to seperate the Angels’ staff was the presence of Haren. However, he has struggled this season and as a result the Angels’ pitchers are in the middle of the pack instead of leading the AL like they were built to.
Haren can change that tonight with a strong performance. San Diego can cure a lot of ills for Haren simply by being their usual crappy selves. As Weaver showed last night, all you have to do is throw the ball and let the ballpark and the defense do their thing. Simple right?
On a seperate note, there is report running around that Albert Pujols approached Mike Scioscia about taking some games at third base. I think this speaks more to the ridiculuously hot nature of Mark Trumbo than anything about Albert. Pujols wants to win and he knows that the team winning will take the heat of his .211 Batting Average. I for one think the idea is at least an interesting one. The idea was to have him do it when they play NL teams so he, Trumbo, and Kendrys Morales could all be in the line-up. Not sure what this would do the offense, but it would kill the defense. Given that Morales hasn’t played meaningful first base in almost two years, I think we would all be better off sticking with the normal experimentation we have been suffering through this season.
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