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Monday, July 16, 2012

Los Angeles Angels vs. Detroit Tigers Series Preview (7/16 - 7/19)

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By Brian Waller, AngelsWin.com Columnist

Angels/Tigers Preview:

Tigers at a Glance
Offensively the Tigers rank 2nd in the AL in hitting (.269 avg), 4th in OPS (.755), 9th in home runs (86), and 13th in stolen bases (33).

Pitching wise Detroit is 7th in the AL in ERA (3.93), 12th in avg. against (.260), and 10th in WHIP (1.32). Excluding Justin Verlander, the Tigers rotation is not one that strikes fear in the hearts of opposing offenses. Good news Angels fans...the Halos wont have to face the reigning AL Cy Young award winner this week.

Player(s) to Watch:
Santana is 0-2 in his last 3 starts, allowing 15 ER in 14.1 innings while giving up 17 hits and walking 6. In career starts against the Detroit Tigers Santana is 6-2 with a 3.57 ERA. Santana's career in ERA at Comerica Park is 5.40. Santana will be facing some big "boppers" in Detroit, hopefully he maintain his control, avoid big innings and finish innings off after getting the first 2 outs. Here is how Santana has fared in his career against some of the Detroit sluggers:

vs. Miguel Cabrera
4-for-11 (.364 avg.), 1 HR, 3 RBI's and a 1.053 OPS

vs. Jhonny Peralta
2-for-14 (.143 avg.), 0 HR, 2 RBI's and a .330 OPS

vs. Prince Fielder
1-for-2 (.500 avg.), 1 HR, 2 RBI's and a 2.667 OPS.

Another player to watch is of course....Mike Trout! Trout went 7-for-14 (.500 avg.) against the New York Yankees this past weekend including 4 doubles and 4 stolen bases. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Trout collect a few more doubles and possibly even a triple or two this week against the Tigers; Comerica Park is very spacious and Trout's speed on the base paths and in the outfield could be the difference maker.

Pitching Match-ups:
7/16 – Ervin Santana (4-9, 5.75 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (6-5, 4.47 ERA)
7/17 – TBD vs. Jacob Turner (0-0, 1.80 ERA)
7/18 – C.J. Wilson (9-5, 2.43 ERA) vs. Doug Fister (3-6, 4.39 ERA)
7/19 – Jerome Williams (6-6, 4.67 ERA) vs. Matt Scherzer (8-5, 4.84 ERA)

Weather:
7/16 – Partly sunny with a high of 92 degrees
7/17 – Isolated T-Storms (30% chance of rain) with a high of 99 degrees
7/18 - Isolated T-Storms (30% chance of rain) with a high of 88 degrees
7/19 - Sunny with a high of 85 degrees

Game Times/Channels/Promotions:
7/16 – 4:05 p.m. / FSW & ESPN
7/17 – 4:05 p.m. / FSW
7/18 - 4:05 p.m. / FSW
7/19 - 10:05 a.m. / FSW