Angels at Indians
As the Albert Pujols home run watch enters its 22nd game, the slugging first baseman can take some solace in the fact that the power outage is widespread in relation to the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians, who will wrap up a three-game series Sunday. A rare home run by the Angels – the second in as many games for Torii Hunter – was the decisive blow as Los Angeles snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the host Indians on Saturday. Hunter's homer was only the fifth in 10 games for the Angels.
As much as Pujols and the Angels have struggled in the power department, it has been worse for the Indians. Cleveland has gone 10 consecutive games without a home run, the longest drought for the franchise since 1983. The Indians had no such issues to start the season, hitting at least one homer in each of the first nine games and 16 total. They will look to halt the streak in Sunday’s series finale against Ervin Santana, who has surrendered a major league-leading 10 homers.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Ervin Santana (0-4, ERA 7.23) vs. Indians RH Derek Lowe (3-1, ERA 3.00)
While Santana has been taken deep with alarming regularity during his rocky start to the season, his last appearance at Progressive Field was one for the record books. Santana tossed a no-hitter against the Indians on July 27, 2011. Remarkably, it was his first victory against Cleveland in seven career starts. Santana has coughed up at least two homers in each of his four starts and Los Angeles has been shut out in his last three.
Lowe rebounded from back-to-back shaky outings with six solid innings in his last start, holding Kansas City to one run on eight hits in six innings. The sinkerballer has permitted only five homers in 125 career innings against Los Angeles, but Hunter has taken him deep three times in 25 at-bats. Maicer Izturis is 8-for-16 and Pujols is 10-for-28 with one homer and 10 RBIs against the 38-year-old right-hander.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pujols (.226) has batted less than .250 in April only once in his career. That was last season, when he hit .245 in the first month.
2. Two streaks ended Saturday. The Indians lost their first one-run game (6-1) and Los Angeles won its first one (1-6).
3. The longest stretch without a home run for Cleveland was 14 games in April 1983.