Angels at Twins
After scuffling at the plate for the better part of his first two months with the Los Angeles Angels, Ian Kinsler has started to hit more like the four-time All-Star he is. The 35-year-old second baseman can match a career best with a homer in four straight games Sunday when his Angels attempt to tie their longest winning streak of the season and complete a three-game road sweep of the Minnesota Twins.
Kinsler was batting .178 as recently as May 27 and managed only two home runs to go along with six RBIs over his first 39 games after Los Angeles made an offseason trade to acquire him from Detroit. He caught fire at the end of last month against his former team and has been a steadying force atop the lineup ever since, hitting .347 with six homers and 11 RBIs in the last 12 contests. Kinsler and Albert Pujols each went deep in Saturday's 2-1 victory, improving the Angels to 7-1 in June while sending Minnesota to its fourth setback in five outings. Eddie Rosario continued to make a strong case for an All-Star nod with his fourth two-hit effort over that span, but his hot bat alone hasn't been enough to carry the Twins, who have scored a total of eight runs in their last four losses.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Nick Tropeano (3-3, 4.35 ERA) vs. Twins RH Fernando Romero (2-2, 3.96)
Tropeano was fortunate to escape with a no-decision Monday after struggling through his worst outing of the season against Kansas City, surrendering five runs on nine hits and a walk across 4 2/3 innings. It was a step back for the Stony Brook alum, who went 2-1 with a 3.25 ERA in five May turns. Tropeano, who is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in four road starts this season, allowed three runs in six frames to Minnesota on May 12 and owns a 2.84 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against the Twins.
Romero bounced back from his own difficult outing on May 30 versus Kansas City with a solid performance in a no-decision Tuesday against Chicago, yielding two runs over six innings in a no-decision versus the White Sox. The 23-year-old rookie hasn't won since blanking Toronto and St. Louis in succession to begin his big-league career, but he has permitted two runs or fewer in five of his seven turns. Romero threw five innings of one-run ball in another no-decision on May 13 versus the Angels.
WALK-OFFS
1. The only other time in Kinsler's career he hit four homers in as many games was May 15-18, 2016. The last three contests during that streak came against the Twins.
2. Rosario is batting .382 with five home runs, 10 RBIs and has drawn six walks to go along with only two strikeouts in nine games this month.
3. With Saturday's solo shot, Pujols moved into a tie with Hall of Famer Stan Musial for sixth place on the all-time RBI list with 1,951.