Rays at Angels
Reigning American League MVP Mike Trout returns to the lineup after a 39-game absence on Friday, when the Los Angeles Angels host the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of their three-game series. Los Angeles went 19-20 without the superstar center fielder, who suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb on May 28 that required surgery.
Trout was off to a superb start as he batted .337 with 16 homers and 36 RBIs prior to his injury, and the Angels hope his presence can help jump-start the team. Los Angeles (45-47) dropped seven of its last 10 contests prior to the All-Star break and sits just three games behind in the AL wild-card race. The Rays (47-43) currently possess one of the wild-card spots, but it is a crowded competition as seven teams lurking within five games of a berth. "There are no easy series in this league," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash told reporters. "You look at the standings, obviously you separate the division, but then you look at the wild card, there are a lot of teams in the hunt. That's a byproduct of just having a lot of good teams."
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), FSN West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Jacob Faria (4-0, 2.11 ERA) vs. Angels RH Ricky Nolasco (4-10, 5.06)
Faria has been superb since his recall from the minors, allowing just one run in four of his first six major-league starts. The 23-year-old has registered 37 strikeouts and issued just nine walks while limiting opposing batters to a .203 average. Faria walked four in six innings while defeating Boston in his last turn after handing out a total of five free passes in his first five outings.
Nolasco has served up 25 homers in just 101 1/3 innings - three shy of his career-high total from 2008 while with Miami. The 34-year-old surrendered three blasts in a loss to the Rays on May 24, when he gave up five runs and seven hits in six frames. Nolasco, who is 3-7 with a 6.67 ERA in 10 career starts against Tampa Bay, gave up two homers to Steven Souza Jr. and one to Colby Rasmus in the May defeat.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Rays placed Rasmus on the restricted list on Thursday as the 30-year-old has decided to "step away from baseball."
2. Tampa Bay 1B Logan Morrison already has established a career best for homers (24) and is 16 RBIs shy of setting a new high in that category (72 in 2011 with the Marlins).
3. Los Angeles DH Albert Pujols hit .321 with two homers in his first eight games of the month after batting .196 with three blasts in June.