Angels at Twins
The Minnesota Twins are having issues scoring runs and face a pitcher against whom they seldom have success on Saturday. Jered Weaver
will be on the mound when the Los Angeles Angels visit the Twins for the middle contest of their three-game series as he looks to improve upon his 9-2 record and 3.22 ERA in
16 career starts against Minnesota.
The Twins established a season best for runs scored when they edged the Angels 5-4 for their first victory of the season. Minnesota lost its first nine games and has totaled the fewest runs (19) in the majors but scored the final three in the series opener as Byung Ho Park delivered the tiebreaking double in the eighth inning. "It really does feel like there's a weight lifted off our shoulders," Minnesota's Trevor Plouffe said afterward. "We know the type of team we can be, and we think this is just the first step in that. We'll look forward to coming to the park (Saturday) trying to get a series win against a good team, and hopefully, this gets the ball rolling for us." The Angels had their four-game winning streak halted Friday despite getting home runs from Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jered Weaver (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Twins RH Ricky Nolasco (0-0, 1.29)
Weaver dealt with injury and velocity issues during spring training but put them behind him when he won his first start of the campaign. The 33-year-old allowed just one run and six hits in six innings while defeating Texas on Sunday. Minnesota's Kurt Suzuki is batting .288 with a homer against Weaver, but most of that damage was done while with Oakland.
Nolasco performed well in his first start of season despite receiving a no-decision against Kansas City on Sunday. He allowed one run and three hits over seven innings and showed he might be ready to rebound after having a combined ERA of 5.64 over his first two seasons with Minnesota. Nolasco is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA in two career starts versus the Angels and has been torched regularly by Pujols, who is 13-for-25 with three homers and 11 RBIs against him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Calhoun is riding an eight-game hitting streak and is 7-for-12 over the last three.
2. Minnesota 1B Joe Mauer is 9-for-22 during his six-game hitting streak.
3. Los Angeles 1B C.J. Cron was hitless in three at-bats Friday and is 3-for-32 on the season.