Angels at Giants
San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford is an unlikely power source, but his five home runs are tied for the most among all major-league shortstops as the Giants aim for a three-game series sweep against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. Crawford moved halfway to his career-high of 10 homers with a solo blast in Saturday's 5-4 victory.
The loss dropped the Angels to 2-3 on their six-game road trip to the Bay Area and marked their second consecutive one-run defeat. First baseman Albert Pujols returned after missing two games due to a tight hamstring and homered from the No. 3 spot in front of Kole Calhoun, who was moved from the leadoff spot to cleanup in an effort to spark the offense. The Giants have won seven of their last 10 contests thanks in part to center fielder Angel Pagan, who is hitting .347 with 10 multi-hit games for the season. Third baseman Casey McGehee, who has struggled early with his new team, went 3-for-4 on Saturday and recorded his first RBI since April 8.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jered Weaver (0-3, 5.83 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (1-2, 3.27)
Weaver fell to 0-3 for the first time in his career after allowing six runs in seven innings against Oakland on Tuesday. “His stuff is not that far away from when he won 20 ballgames (in 2012),” manager Mike Scioscia told reporters. “But right now he’s trying to find a release point, a mechanical solution that will let him be in sync.” Weaver, who retired 19 of the last 22 batters he faced in his last outing, tossed six scoreless innings against the Giants in 2012.
Lincecum turned in his shortest outing of the season Monday, when he allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks over four innings in an 8-3 loss to the Dodgers. The two-time Cy Young award winner, who made his only appearance against the Angels in 2009, owns a 16-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 22 innings. Chris Iannetta is 6-for-15 with a home run against Lincecum, who was 9-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 19 games (15 starts) at home last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Giants C Buster Posey is 9-for-24 during his six-game hitting streak.
2. The Angels have been held to three runs or fewer in 14 of their first 24 games.
3. San Francisco’s eight one-run victories lead the majors.