Angels at Rockies
The Los Angeles Angels regained first place in the American League West over the weekend, while the Colorado Rockies are inching closer to the top spot in the National League West. The two early contenders kick off an intriguing two-game Interleague series at Colorado on Tuesday, with the host Rockies aiming for their sixth straight win.
Colorado swept three straight at the New York Mets, riding Ian Desmond's two homers and a franchise record-tying eighth consecutive quality start - this one by Kyle Freeland - to a 3-2 victory in Sunday's finale. "We're feeding off each other big time," Freeland told reporters of the starting rotation. "It's like every single day someone is trying to one-up the next guy from the night before, and that's going to create a lot of very good winning atmosphere and it's going to generate a lot of wins." The Angels received a solid start of their own with Shohei Ohtani's six solid innings in an 8-2 win at Seattle on Sunday, their fifth victory in the last six games. Mike Trout homered among three hits and he should be excited about returning to Coors Field, where he is 12-for-21 with three home runs in five career games.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Andrew Heaney (1-1, 5.31 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jon Gray (3-4, 4.99)
Heaney gave up 10 earned runs through his first two starts but rebounded to allow one in each of his next two outings. He lasted a season-high six innings to pick up his first win of the season against Baltimore on Wednesday. The 26-year-old won his only prior matchup with the Rockies in 2015, yielding two runs in 7 1/3 innings while striking out five.
Gray bounced back from a rocky stretch in the middle of April to spin six scoreless in a win over San Diego and then limit the Chicago Cubs to a run in seven frames last Tuesday at Wrigley Field. He has 17 strikeouts against two walks while allowing just six hits in that span. Gray has never faced the Angels and is 3-1 with a 3.75 ERA in six career Interleague starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Angels won the last nine meetings overall and they've taken eight in a row at Coors Field dating to their last loss there in 1999.
2. Los Angeles INF Zack Cozart has two homers and five doubles over his last seven games while raising his batting average from .211 to .237.
3. Rockies RHP Adam Ottavino struck out three in a scoreless inning Sunday and he has 35 Ks while allowing one run in 19 innings this year.