Out since June 12 with arm trouble, Ervin Santana returns to the Angels rotation on Friday just in time to face the roadkill otherwise known as the Baltimore Orioles.
The last place Baltimore Orioles continue to struggle on the road. The Birds are now 11-24 away from Camden Yards following a 5-2 loss to the Angels on Thursday night.
Just about everywhere you look the numbers are bad for Baltimore. They’re 0-3 against the Halos this season and 7-21 in the last 28 meetings. The Orioles are just 3-7 in their last 10 outings and hitting just .236 on the road while posting an ERA of 6.01 as a visitor.
Tonight Baltimore will face Ervin Santana who has had two stints on the DL this season. It’s amazing how things can change in a year. In 2008 Santana was a member of the AL All-Star team; this season he’s had more stints on the disabled list than he has wins. Santana has been on the 15-day disabled list since June 23 (retroactive to June 12). He experienced stiffness in his throwing arm following a start on June 11 in Tampa Bay and will take the mound this evening with a 1-3 record and an ERA of 7.47 in six starts.
The Orioles counter with David Hernandez who is 1-2 on the season with a 4.19 ERA. In his last three starts he’s had as many walks as strikeouts and his ERA is just a smidge under 5.00.
After a slow start with the bats, the Angels have come to life offensively. Los Halos have scored 34 runs in their last five games and Bobby Abreu has been a big reason for the increased production. Abreu, who homered twice on Thursday night, has driven in 27 runs since the start of June. The only hitter in the AL who has matched Abreu’s production is teammate Juan Rivera.
The Angels have somehow kept things together in a season where lesser teams would have unraveled. Even with a rusty Santana on the mound tonight, I like the Angels to keep things rolling.
Free Pick: Angels -147