Indians at Angels
The Cleveland Indians look to continue their recent dominance over the Los Angeles Angels when the teams continue their three-game series in Anaheim on Tuesday. The Indians have won 12 straight and 16 of their last 17 meetings with the Angels, including Monday's convincing 6-0 victory.
Edwin Encarnacion, Yonder Alonso and Tyler Naquin each homered in Monday’s triumph as Cleveland evened its record after opening the season by dropping two of three in Seattle. The Indians could receive a boost later this week when Michael Brantley (ankle) comes off the disabled list, perhaps as soon as Friday’s home opener against Kansas City. The Angels took three of four against Oakland but came out flat in Monday’s home opener, with Mike Trout, Justin Upton, Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun going hitless in 13 at-bats. Andrelton Simmons has been the Angels' hottest hitter early on, batting .450 with a five-game hitting streak to begin the season.
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, ESPN, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FS West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Josh Tomlin (2017: 10-9, 4.98 ERA) vs. Angels RH Garrett Richards (0-0, 7.20)
Tomlin solidified his spot in the rotation by closing out a rocky spring on a positive note, holding San Francisco to three runs over 5 2/3 innings in his final outing. The 33-year-old owns a 59-48 career record with Cleveland and is known for his impeccable control, issuing just 14 walks in 26 starts last season. Zack Cozart is 8-for-17 with a home run against Tomlin, who is 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA in six career starts against the Angels.
Richards faced Oakland on Opening Day and took the loss after yielding four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four over five innings. The 29-year-old is hoping to stay healthy after being limited to a total of 12 starts over the last two seasons because of right arm injuries. Richards is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA in two career starts against the Indians and has struggled to contain Encarnacion (5-for-12, two homers).
WALK-OFFS
1. The Indians have won 22 of their last 24 series.
2. Simmons is batting .364 (16-for-44) in his last 13 games against the Indians.
3. Cleveland is an American League-best 105-64 against AL West opponents since 2013.