Phillies at Angels
Josh Hamilton has good reason to believe he’ll break out of his 1-for-24 slump Tuesday when the Los Angeles Angels begin a two-game set against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. The Angels outfielder is 6-for-11 with three home runs in his career against Jerome Williams, who is making his Phillies debut after being claimed off waivers from Texas on Sunday. Philadelphia has lost seven in a row against the Angels, who are 3 1/2 games back of first-place Oakland in the American League West, but 5 1/2 clear for a wild-card spot.
The Phillies have lost three of their last four, but first baseman Ryan Howard is showing signs of life by going 8-for-30 with two homers and nine RBIs over his last seven games. While Howard is heating up, the Angels have lost five of their last six while batting .223 as a team since the All-Star break. “There’s some improvement that we need from players,” manager Mike Scioscia told reporters. “A lot of this is cyclical. We have a lot of guys that are obviously struggling right now, and we need to just keep pushing forward.”
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, CSN (Philadelphia), FSN West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Jerome Williams (2-5, 6.71 ERA) vs. Angels RH C.J. Wilson (8-8, 4.82)
Williams is starting in place of Sean O’Sullivan, who was designated for assignment after yielding five runs in six innings against Houston on Thursday. Williams has appeared in 28 games – including two starts – for the Astros and Rangers this season. The 32-year-old has posted a 10.29 ERA in three relief appearances covering seven innings this season against the Angels.
Wilson's struggles continued Thursday against the Dodgers when he issued four walks and allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old owns an 11.03 ERA in his last six starts. “There is definitely concern,” Scioscia said of Wilson, who is 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA in three career games (one start) against the Phillies. “There’s certainly been some head-scratching over the last seven or eight starts.”
WALK-OFFS
1. Hamilton hasn’t homered at Angel Stadium since Aug. 18, 2013 against Houston.
2. The Phillies bullpen had allowed one earned run over its previous 24 2/3 innings before Justin De Fratus allowed two runs in one inning against the Mets on Monday.
3. The Angels are 25-10 in their last 35 home games.