Joel Pineiro had a July to forget and looks to start anew with his first August start, Wednesday night against the Twins. The Angels battle the Twins in the second of three games against Minnesota, the first series of a six-game homestand through this weekend. The Angels open play one game behind Texas in the American League West.
Pineiro made five starts in July, and pitched a total of 23 innings. He gave up 21 runs on 37 hits, and had all of eight strikeouts against nine walks. His 7.43 ERA was supplemented by opposing batters hitting .370/.418/.530 off the right-hander. He also had a 5.17 FIP and 4.91 xFIP during the month. Pineiro bottomed out in Oakland on July 18, retiring just one of 10 batters faced in the shortest outing of his career.
With next Monday off, the Angels could possibly skip Pineiro his next time through the rotation, though manager Mike Scioscia might have other ideas. "We're going to look at some things," Scioscia told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register on Saturday. "Right now, it's as valuable to every guy (in the rotation) to give them the extra day (between starts) as it is to skip somebody."
The Angels have 70 quality starts this season, the most in the American League.
Scott Baker gets the call for Minnesota. Joe Mauer in his career has enjoyed facing the Angels, hitting .333/.416/.484 in 44 games, but then again Mauer has enjoyed facing everyone. His career batting line is .325/.405/.474.
Tonight's 7:05 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more news and information on the Angels, or on tonight's game, be sure to read Halos Heaven.