Angels at Rays
Matt Shoemaker looks to remain unbeaten against the Tampa Bay Rays when his surging Los Angeles Angels pay them a visit Tuesday for the second contest of their four-game series. Shoemaker is 3-0 with a 2.60 ERA in three career outings versus the Rays and hopes to ride the wave as Los Angeles goes for its seventh victory in nine games after grinding out a 3-2 victory in the series opener.
Cameron Maybin continued his assault on Tampa Bay pitching Monday with two hits, including a solo homer, to improve to 20-for-39 with 12 RBIs in 12 career games against the Rays. Alex Cobb will try to cool off Maybin while containing sluggers Albert Pujols and Mike Trout in a powerful Angels lineup which has produced at least five runs in five of the last seven contests. Corey Dickerson belted a first-inning homer to extend his hitting streak to six games for the Rays, but his string of two-hit performances ended at five. The Rays had won six of eight contests to move over .500 for the first time in a month but have dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions over the last two days, giving up the winning run on Monday on a wild pitch.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Matt Shoemaker (3-2, 4.47 ERA) vs. Rays RH Alex Cobb (4-3, 3.67)
Shoemaker has won his last two starts, including a performance against Detroit on May 12 in which he struck out seven over six scoreless innings. The 30-year-old Eastern Michigan product has given up one homer in the last two outings after surrendering nine over his first seven starts of the season and has registered 50 strikeouts in 50 1/3 frames. Logan Morrison (4-for-11, one homer) and Colby Rasmus (6-for-19, one homer) have given Shoemaker trouble.
Cobb has strung together four quality starts while notching three victories, including his last outing in which he limited Cleveland to three runs over seven innings. The 29-year-old Boston native has struggled with Trout (4-for-6, one homer) and Pujols (5-for-5, one homer) while going 1-1 with a 7.08 ERA in four career games against the Angels. Three of Cobb’s four wins have come away from home, but he owns a better ERA at Tropicana Field (3.20) than on the road (3.93).
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay INF Michael Martinez got his first start since being acquired from Cleveland and went 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday.
2. Los Angeles optioned 1B C.J. Cron to Triple-A Salt Lake and recalled 2B Nolan Fontana, who went 0-for-3 on Monday in his major-league debut.
3. Tampa Bay INF David Robertson has hit safely in five of his last six games, raising his average from .170 to .208.