When the Angels take on the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday night in Anaheim, they'll be looking to do at least two things; 1) Give Dan Haren some run-support, and; 2) Stop their three-game skid. Chances are if they do the former they'll end up doing the later.
Haren (5-3, 2.29 ERA) will be making his first start since suffering a stiff lower back during a bullpen session last Wednesday. The right-hander's start against the Yankees on Saturday was pushed back to Tuesday when he reported no problems after a 30 pitch throwing session on Sunday.
If the Angels (30-32) are happy their co-ace is back on the mound, they might want to show it by scoring some runs when he's out there. Haren has received the lowest run-support average in the AL at 2.4 runs. In his last outing on May 29th, Haren earned his first win in eight tries when he beat the Twins in Minneapolis. Although he gave up 3 runs on 10 hits in the game, the Angel offense scored 4 runs while Haren was in the game, the largest amount this season (12 starts).
Tampa Bay (31-29) will send rookie right-hander Alex Cobb (0-0, 5.91 ERA) to the hill. Cobb is making his third start of the year, and second against the Halos. The Angels scored 4 runs in 4.1 innings on May 1st, Cobb's major league debut.
With a win tonight, the Angels will end their 3-game losing streak and get them to within one game of returning to .500. The club is currently 4.6 games behind AL West division leading Texas Rangers, their largest deficit of the year.
Who's Hot - Last 7 Games:
Bobby Abreu - 7 for his last 17 (.412), 2 2B, 2 SB
Mark Trumbo - 8 for his last 21 (.381), 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 SB
Johnny Damon- 9 for his last 28 (.321)
Ben Zobrist - 8 for his last 27 (.296), 2 2B
Evan Longoria - 5 for his last 17 (.294), 1 HR
Who's Cold - Last 7 Games:
Torii Hunter - 1 for his last 22 (.045)
Howie Kendrick - 0 for his last 10 (.000)
Erick Aybar - 6 for his last 26 (.231)
Casey Kotchman- 1 for his last 11 (.091)
Sean Rodriguez - 2 for his last 19 (.105), 10 K
BJ Upton -20 for his last 19 (.105)
Game time is 7:05 (PDT) and will be show in Fox Sports West. For more Angels' news, be sure to check out Halos Heaven.