Clips (May 12, 2015)

Transcription

1 May 12, 2015 Page 1 of 14 Clips (May 12, 2015)

2 May 12, 2015 Page 2 of 14 Today s Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3) Angels seem to have quite a catch in Carlos Perez FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 5) Angels hope humidor for baseballs helps with evaluating talent in Salt Lake Irvine 12-year-old, Girl Scouts' top cookie seller, throws first pitch at Angels game Angels GM Jerry Dipoto preparing to examine options to aid anemic offense On deck: Rockies at Angels, Tuesday, 7 p.m. FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 10) Five takeaways from Angels' first five weeks FROM FOX SPORTS WEST (Page 13) Week ahead for Angels: Interleague series vs. Rockies before 10-game road trip FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 14) Rockies-Angels Preview

3 May 12, 2015 Page 3 of 14 FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Angels seem to have quite a catch in Carlos Perez By Chris Foster It was a whirlwind first week in the major leagues for Angels catcher Carlos Perez. After seven years in the minor leagues, he hit a game-winning home run against the Seattle Mariners in his big leagues debut Tuesday. And he followed up with a couple of solid performances that left Manager Mike Scioscia intrigued. Perez credits a keep-it-simple approach for his early success. "I just am trying to do everything I learned in the minors," he said. It was a long study session. Perez is only 24, but he put in his time since signing as a teenager, playing in the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros organizations. There were occasions he wasn't sure where his work would lead, but he said, "I never stopped believing that I could get to the major leagues." It looks as if he might stay awhile. In four games, Perez has four hits in 14 at-bats and, more impressively, has shown he possesses the intangibles that would extend his stay. "We always felt he was going to be able to catch and throw, but you're seeing him bring a game plan into a game," Scioscia said. "You're seeing him make adjustments between innings with pitchers. You're seeing him apply himself on warmup pitches, which is probably one of the most valuable tools a pitcher and catcher have, to go out there and make it a mini-bullpen [session] between innings. "These are things that hopefully add up to a frontline major league catcher." Veteran Chris Iannetta, 32, has been solid for the Angels the last three seasons after being acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rockies. But he is batting.101 in 23 games this season and has thrown out three of 20 runners trying to steal. Perez provided an immediate boost. He had two hits in his major league debut, the second a line drive that cleared the left-field fence and resulted in a celebratory sports drink shower from his teammates. Then he spent the weekend being a thorn to his former team. Perez, who was acquired from the Astros during the off-season along with pitcher Nick Tropeano in exchange for catcher Hank Conger, had an run-scoring single in the Angels' 2-0 victory Friday and two hits and drove in a run in the team's 6-5 loss Saturday. "Every time I go to the plate, I just try not to put too much pressure on myself," Perez said. "I'm just trying hit to the middle and not pull the ball."

4 May 12, 2015 Page 4 of 14 The Astros tested his defense right off the bat. Jose Altuve led off Friday's game with a single and tried to steal on the next pitch. Perez gunned a throw to second base to erase Altuve. The same thing happened to Jake Marisnick on Saturday: single, attempted steal on first pitch, out. "That's huge," said Matt Shoemaker, the Angels' starting pitcher Saturday. "It's one of the most encouraging things for a pitcher, when a guy gets thrown out trying to steal a base. It's a bonus out." Scioscia, a former catcher, has been encouraged by Perez's impressive start, but he is as cautious as he is optimistic. "It's one week in the major leagues," Scioscia said. "He has shown a lot of promise. But it's still a wide gap between catching well the first week and being a guy who can go out there and catch games a year." Perez's resume indicates that work won't wear on him. After not advancing past the Class-A level in four seasons with the Blue Jays, he started working overtime in the Venezuela winter league. He was traded to the Astros during the 2012 season, finishing up with the Class-A Lancaster Jethawks. He started 2013 at double-a Corpus Christi and was quickly promoted to triple-a Oklahoma City, where he also played last season. Perez has a.280 batting average in the minor leagues, and hit.329 with four home runs and 24 runs batted in in 41 games for Caracas last winter. By the end of spring training this year, Scioscia recalled, "He was catching at a high level and swinging the bat well." Assigned to triple-a Salt Lake, Perez continued his ascent, hitting.361 in 17 games. His transition to the Angels lineup has been seamless. The simple approach he uses when he hits is also applied when he catches. "I don't try to do too much behind the plate," Perez said. "I try to make the pitcher feel comfortable." So far, so good. "He's a great presence back there," Shoemaker said. "He gives you a great target. He's a great defensive catcher with a great arm. That's fun to throw to." And, for his boss, fun to watch. "At the plate, he's got some hits to fall in and we think he is a really good offensive player," Scioscia said. "But just being able to control a game like he can from behind the plate, that's very impressive. It gives us a lot of confidence."

5 May 12, 2015 Page 5 of 14 FROM THE OC REGISTER Angels hope humidor for baseballs helps with evaluating talent in Salt Lake BY BUBBA BROWN SALT LAKE CITY Cam Bedrosian chuckled, a grin sneaking onto his face, when asked about the humidor the Salt Lake Bees installed before the season to help neutralize the thin air that has always made the town among the most hitter-friendly destinations in minor league baseball. While the small sample of games the Bees have played at home has rendered the humidor s effect so far difficult to discern, that hasn t stopped the relievers sitting in the bullpen down the first base line from speculating with abandon, it seems. A shallow fly ball to left field? Must have been the humidor. Outfielder strides casually to his left and makes an easy catch 40 feet in front of the wall? Last year, it would have been out of here. Or so the running gag has gone. Every time a ball is hit now, I say something, Bedrosian said. Every time it s just a fly ball, it s like, That s the humidor right there. In reality, while a difference in how balls are traveling this season has not been clear to the naked eye, the humidor is almost certainly suppressing offense if the four other ballparks in the country that also use one are any indication, at least. Everywhere that has had them, from one year to the next there s definitely a difference in pitchers ERAs and home run and run production, said Marc Amicone, general manager of the Bees. With baseball thriving in Salt Lake despite the thin air for more than 100 years in some professional capacity for most of them it may be fair to wonder why a humidor is needed. Or, at least, why now? The simple answer is the Angels wanted to be able to get a more accurate look at their prospects playing with the Bees. Salt Lake, like many towns in the Pacific Coast League, has long been known as a difficult place to evaluate players. With inflated ERAs and batting averages, determining where true talent level ends and the elevation s influence begins can be a challenge. The humidor might be able to help. The Angels want to normalize the ball to behave like closer to sea level for both hitters and pitchers, Amicone said, adding the Bees have considered installing a humidor for the past few seasons. I think you adjust as a scout or a coach as you re evaluating, understanding these guys are playing in Salt Lake. But now we have the technology to make Salt Lake more normal, for lack of a better term. So why not use that technology? Bryan Kinneberg, baseball operations manager for the Bees, was the man tasked with making the humidor operational. Now the humidor, which was converted from a walk-in refrigerator, is home to roughly 3,600 baseballs, kept at 72 degrees and 50 percent humidity. If the humidity gets too high, an alarm, complete with a flashing red light, sounds.

6 May 12, 2015 Page 6 of 14 We keep it pretty precise, Kinneberg said. The effect on the balls is relatively small the humidor adds just 1 percent more moisture into them, making them slightly more spongy, Kinneberg said but the on-field result can be large. A regular ball hit 300 feet would travel roughly nine feet fewer if it were humidified. That can turn a lot of homers, as well as would-be doubles or triples in cavernous Smith s Ballpark, into outs. But catcher Jett Bandy said players haven t noticed much of a change in how the ball comes off the bat. I haven t really gotten into a ball where I was like, 'Oh, that ball should have gone, said Bandy, who with a.347/.365/.510 line on the year has little reason to complain about suppressed offense. But I can definitely feel a difference when I m holding the balls. They re definitely a little squishier, but I haven t seen a big difference in games yet. Pitcher Nick Tropeano joked that the humidor has had a placebo-like effect and that he d tricked himself into seeing signs of the humidor when they weren t there. But after pondering for a moment, he came to a simple conclusion: The ball still carries if you hit it hard. Irvine 12-year-old, Girl Scouts' top cookie seller, throws first pitch at Angels game BY SARAH de CRESCENZO Getting to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most. Not so for Alanah Juezan, 12, of Irvine, who has become a regular at the annual Girl Scout Night at Angels Stadium thanks to her cookie-selling prowess since Fifteen minutes before the Angels game began Saturday night, Alanah walked to the pitcher s mound, turned to face home base and fired the ball at Hector Santiago, who caught it without having to move from his crouch. The Orchard Hills School student was chosen to throw the pitch because she was the top cookie seller this year in Orange County, with 4,709 boxes. She s not a one-hit wonder, said her father, Dexter Juezan. This was her fourth year in a row as top seller. Alanah, a Girl Scout since kindergarten and a member of Tustin Service Unit 1, began taking selling seriously five years ago, her father said. We ve told her, everything you do in life, you give it everything you ve got, Dexter Juazen said.

7 May 12, 2015 Page 7 of 14 Four years ago, her sales volume earned her the chance to toss her first ceremonial pitch. The following year, she got to shout play ball! And in 2014, she hung out in the dugout and scored some autographs. People ask us is there some special trick? Dexter Juazen said. I tell people: it s just a four-letter word. W-o-r-k. A boost from her little brother hasn t hurt either, he added. Hunter, 5, likes to tag along and encourage neighbors to buy as Alanah pulls a wagon stacked with boxes through the neighborhood. This seems to be something that s going to be a family tradition, he said. Angels GM Jerry Dipoto preparing to examine options to aid anemic offense BY JEFF FLETCHER ANAHEIM Jerry Dipoto is like one of those early-bird shoppers standing outside the store, waiting for the doors to open. Although the Angels are desperate for a hitter to spark their sagging offense, making trades at this time of year is problematic because it s too early for teams to give up and sell off their pieces. While one of the few teams already out of the race has a player who would be a perfect fit for the Angels more on him later Dipoto is mostly in a holding pattern. We ve always been open to supplementing the team and finding ways to get better as we go, the Angels general manager said. But it s still very early in the season to determine who is available and to define who you are able to access and which of those needs will be a need in one day, 30 days or 60 days. Although the Angels might not have the solution available just yet, the problem has been clearly defined. The Angels, who are a disappointing 15-17, have averaged 3.69 runs per game, which ranks 14th out of 15 teams in the American League. They have scored three runs or fewer in 18 games, tied for the most in the American League. Part of that is a bit of bad luck and scheduling. The top four pitchers in the league in ERA Dallas Keuchel, Nick Martinez, Felix Hernandez and Sonny Gray all play in the AL West. The Angels already have faced each of them twice, accounting for one-quarter of their games. Also, the Angels have played 26 of their 32 games in pitchers parks in Anaheim, Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco. The only hitters parks they ve seen are Houston and Texas. That will change later this week, when they begin a trip though hitters parks in Baltimore, Toronto and Boston. All that being said, there is undoubtedly some blame to go through the Angels clubhouse, with a handful of players performing below expectations.

8 May 12, 2015 Page 8 of 14 Matt Joyce s OPS over the previous three years was.749. This year it s.397. Chris Iannetta (.743,.318), Erick Aybar (.707,.536) and Albert Pujols (.810,.682) are also significantly below their averages over the past three years, while David Freese (.757,.705) is slightly below. Of those players, only Pujols is older than 32, so Dipoto reasons that age hasn t caught up to them yet. They are established major leaguers and each one is coming off a year in line with their normal production, Dipoto said. That same group that was hot leaving spring training came out and everyone went cold at the same time. There s a reasonable chance when the dial flips the other way, it will flip the other way for a group of guys. Of course, it may not flip for all of them, so Dipoto concedes that it s likely they will still make some changes once trends develop further and the trade market materializes this summer. What the Angels need is fairly specific. The lineup was designed to have Josh Hamilton and Joyce hitting from the left side, and now Hamilton is gone and Joyce has been ineffective. Kole Calhoun is their only productive left-handed hitter. As a result, the Angels are 29th in the majors in OPS against right-handed pitchers. They are 9-14 in games their opponents have started a righty. Against lefties, the Angels are seventh in OPS. Since most pitchers are right-handed, it s a serious issue. Considering the Angels needs, a relatively short list of trade targets emerges, although Dipoto is not allowed to comment on any of them. The Angels would like a left-handed hitter, and ideally it will be one who can play a corner outfield spot. Most likely, that hitter will be from a team that s out of the race. Also, he ll have to have a contract that a team would want to move. Which brings us to Adam Lind. A 31-year-old outfielder/first baseman with the Milwaukee Brewers, Lind is hitting.318 with six homers and a.987 OPS. He has a career.800 OPS, including.866 against right-handers. Lind, who spent most of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, is signed for $7.5 million this year, with a team option for $8 million for Lind is not known for his play in the outfield, so if the Angels got him they would likely DH him or else have to pull him for defense regularly. Philadelphia s Ben Revere could also be a fit. Revere, 27, led the National League in hits last year, and he hit.306. He s mostly a slap hitter with speed and no power, but he would certainly be an upgrade. He s making $4.1 million this year, then is arbitration eligible for two more years. Beyond those two, there are a few players who would be fits for the Angels if their current teams gave up on the season. The Indians Brandon Moss, 31, the White Sox s Adam LaRoche, 35, and the Reds Jay Bruce, 28, would all be decent fits for the Angels if their current underperforming teams decide to sell.

9 May 12, 2015 Page 9 of 14 And then there is the Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, certainly the biggest name among the attainable lefthanded hitting outfielders. Gonzalez, 29, is a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner with some big numbers on the back of his baseball card. He s also been injured, has performed poorly away from Coors Field and has nearly $50 million remaining on his contract through Ryan Howard, 35, has about $53 million guaranteed to him through 2016, including the buyout of his 2017 option. He has performed poorly and would be a strict DH for the Angels. He could be had by any team willing to take on a little of his salary, but he would probably be a last resort. Andre Ethier, 33, could also be a fit if the Dodgers decide to move him to clear the outfield logjam. Obviously, the Dodgers would need to pick up much of his contract, which has at least $50 million left, but they have needed him recently because of injuries to other outfielders. If the Angels decide to look at right-handed hitters, the best one available is Milwaukee s Carlos Gomez. Gomez, however, has been hurt and is having a bad year. If he starts to show his normal production, he ll probably be the most coveted hitter on the July trade market. He would then cost a significant prospect package the Angels might not have. If he doesn t play well enough to warrant that type of return, the Brewers could just hold on to him rather than sell low. While the Angels watch the players on their list, they ll mostly be hoping that they can find the answers from within. Besides the players currently on the major league roster, they could get a boost from someone like Kyle Kubitza coming up from Triple-A. Kubitza, who has an.890 OPS at Triple-A, is a third baseman, but he could come up and move Freese to DH. The Angels might also try Kubitza in left field if his bat warrants him being in the big leagues this year. There is an percent chance most of what we need is sitting right now in the clubhouse, Dipoto said. We just have to wait till they get it going. On deck: Rockies at Angels, Tuesday, 7 p.m. BY JEFF FLETCHER Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West, 7 p.m. Did you know: The Angels have swept the Rockies four times in 2012, 2001, 2000 and THE PITCHERS LHP C.J. WILSON (1-2, 2.70) Six starts into the season, Wilson has done some of his best work since joining the Angels. His ERA and walk rate have been sliced in half from last year. Wilson gave up six earned runs in his April 12 start, and only six in the other five combined. He is coming off an outing in which he pitched seven innings without a walk, only the fifth such outing in his career.

10 May 12, 2015 Page 10 of 14 Vs. Rockies: 1-0, 1.13 At Angel Stadium: 22-16, 3.35 Loves to face: Justin Morneau, 2 for 17 (.118) Hates to face: None RHP KYLE KENDRICK (1-4, 8.73) Kendrick has allowed the most earned runs in the major leagues, 32. He s allowed 45 hits and 11 walks in just 33 innings, a WHIP of Kendrick had two seasons as a starter with an ERA less than 4.00, in with the Phillies, but since then he has a 4.98 ERA. In his last outing, he gave up six runs in five innings of a loss to the San Diego Padres. Vs. Angels: First game At Angel Stadium: First game Loves to face: None Hates to face: Albert Pujols, 5 for 12 (.417) UPCOMING MATCHUP Wednesday: Rockies RHP Jordan Lyles (2-3, 4.42) vs. Angels LHP Hector Santiago (2-2, 2.57), 7 p.m., Fox Sports West FROM ANGELS.COM Five takeaways from Angels' first five weeks By Alden Gonzalez ANAHEIM -- Five weeks down, 21 to go, and the Angels are treading water. Coming off a Major League-leading 98-win season, they're 15-17, five games behind the first-place Astros in the American League West but only one game off last year's pace. They rank 17th in the Majors in run differential and 22nd in Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. Below are the five biggest takeaways thus far. 1. Out in left field Erick Aybar is batting.235, David Freese is at.231, Albert Pujols is at.230, C.J. Cron is at.195, Matt Joyce is at.140 and Chris Iannetta is at.101. They're all going to hit better. And the Angels' offense -- with the second-lowest OPS in the Majors -- will improve, simply by progressing to the mean. But they're also

11 May 12, 2015 Page 11 of 14 limited, and it's pretty clear they'll eventually need to make an addition from the outside, preferably a power left-handed bat who can play left field every day. If that sounds a lot like Josh Hamilton, it should. The Angels' plan going into the season was to have the left-handed-hitting Joyce and the right-handed-hitting Cron platoon at designated hitter, with Joyce occasionally filling in for Hamilton in left field and Cron periodically stepping in for Pujols at first base. Even with Hamilton in Texas, the Angels would still like to find an outfielder who would make that happen. Ideally, they'd find someone who can be a long-term fit, because outfield has become the Angels' greatest organizational need. 2. Believe in Weave? Right-hander Jered Weaver had a very encouraging start against the Astros on Friday, earning his first win of the season and throwing his first shutout in 32 months. His ERA dropped from 6.29 to Prior to that, pundits wondered if it may be time for the 32-year-old Weaver to reinvent himself, because his velocity was at an all-time low and his results were an all-time worst. Told of that, pitching coach Mike Butcher said, "You don't reinvent guys when there's only one like him. For what, to make him look like everybody else?" But some believe that Weaver should throw even slower on purpose. Jamie Moyer's first question, when told of Weaver's early-season struggles and velocity dip, was: What's the variance between his fastball and changeup? The answer? Eight to nine mph, as opposed to 11 to 12 mph last season. "There has to be a decent amount of a gap there," said Moyer, who carved out a 25-year career with a low-80s fastball. "If they're getting closer together in speeds, then it's going to be really tough. Velocity no longer matters, but he needs the velocity in his fastball to determine the variance between his fastball and changeup." 3. Trout is Trout Mike Trout has a.307/.407/.596 slash line, is one of 10 players with an OPS over and he already leads the AL in Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. Ho-hum. Here's a more surprising stat: seven stolen bases. Trout stole 49 bases in 2012, 33 in 2013 and 16 in He was clearly on the same course as such players as Willie Mays and Andre Dawson, five-tool players who stole fewer bases as their power became more pronounced. But Trout went into this season wanting to get that stolen-base total up again, and now he's on pace for 35. Some, like Tim Salmon, believe Trout shouldn't bother stealing a lot of bases, because they "take a toll on your body" and can thus hurt the rest of your game.

12 May 12, 2015 Page 12 of 14 "If you're stealing 50 bags a year, you're putting more of a beating on yourself when you're doing that than just about anything else you can do on a baseball field," general manager Jerry Dipoto said in Spring Training. "Mike can steal 100 bases if he wants to. But what does he have to give up to be that guy?" 4. Garrett is Garrett The most encouraging sign for the Angels, by far, has been the success of right-hander Garrett Richards. Richards, 26, was an AL Cy Young Award candidate before his left patellar tendon ruptured at Fenway Park on Aug. 20, and he's the only pitcher on the Angels' staff -- starter or reliever -- who throws above 92 mph. He may only affect one of every five games, but he was considered a potential differencemaker this season, for obvious reasons. So far, Richards has responded. Richards carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Sunday and has a 2.27 ERA in his first five starts, giving up eight earned runs on 18 hits and 15 unintentional walks in 31 2/3 innings while striking out 29. He is throwing his fastball at 95.8 mph, tied for second-highest among starters, and is maintaining that velocity deep into his pitch count. But Richards' strikeout-to-walk ratio is only His command isn't all the way back yet, which is to be expected for somebody coming off a really long rehab. And there's no reason why it shouldn't improve. 5. The 'pen is mightier A few rough outings notwithstanding, the Angels are perfectly fine with Joe Smith in the eighth and Huston Street in the ninth -- a vast improvement from where they were to start each of the last three seasons. But what comes before that is still a little hazy. Manager Mike Scioscia is still looking for a stable bridge to the final six outs and has mostly tried to get there with matchups. Cesar Ramos and Fernando Salas have been used against lefties, Vinnie Pestano and Mike Morin have mainly been used against righties. So far it's hit and miss, but few teams have the luxury of a set seventh-inning reliever. A rival evaluator pointed to perhaps a bigger deficiency in the bullpen: "They don't have one guy who can come in and get a strikeout." Angels relievers are tied for 16th in the Majors in strikeout rate. Not surprising, given that their hardestthrowing reliever -- Morin, who mostly relies on his changeup -- throws 92 mph. Former seventh-inning man Kevin Jepsen had the big fastball last season, but he was sent to the Rays for Joyce in December. Cam Bedrosian, with 16 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake, could eventually be an important piece.

13 May 12, 2015 Page 13 of 14 FROM FOX SPORTS WEST Week ahead for Angels: Interleague series vs. Rockies before 10-game road trip By Rashaun Haylock The Angels welcome the Colorado Rockies for an interleague series on Tuesday and Wednesday following Monday's off day. It's the only week this season, excluding the All-Star break, in which the Angels have two off days in the same week. The team will be off Thursday as well before visiting the Orioles for a weekend series to begin a 10-game road trip. All games can be seen on FOX Sports West. The week behind Four of the first seven games were wins for the Angels on its current nine-game home stand. The club took two of three from the Mariners. The first place Astros then came to town and the Halos were able to split that four-game series, including Sunday's finale in which Garrett Richards flirted with a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The Angels pitching staff allowed just one hit over the last 15 innings of the series. Record and standings The Angels enter Monday on the year and in second place in the American League West, five games behind the first place Astros. At 20-12, Houston remains the only team in the AL West with an above.500 record. Thumb's up Carlos Perez enjoyed success during his first week in the majors. The rookie catcher hit.357 (5-for-14) with a double, three RBI, and a home run in four games. Perez hit a walk-off home run in his first big league game to become just the fourth player in major league history to do so and the first since Miguel Cabrera in Thumb's down Matt Shoemaker had a rough home stand. He allowed 10 hits in two starts last week. Six of those hits were home runs. Shoemaker has now given up 10 home runs this season which, entering Monday, is the most in the American League. Player to watch Jered Weaver not only picked up his first win of the season but he did so in complete game, shutout fashion. The Angels ace doesn't care about velocity but he hit 89 MPH with his fastball after struggling to get into the mid 80s at the beginning of the season. Stat to watch After Shoemaker was unable to get past three innings on Saturday, the Angels bullpen came in and tossed six scoreless, hitless innings. Entering Monday, that streak is up to 8.1 innings

14 May 12, 2015 Page 14 of 14 FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rockies-Angels Preview While the rotation has played a major role in the Los Angeles Angels' positive stretch at home, the Colorado Rockies haven't gotten much from their starters during their nine-game losing streak. As C.J. Wilson looks to add to his string of solid performances, the Angels will go after their fifth victory in seven games Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game series against the Rockies. Los Angeles starters have allowed one run or none four times in the team's last six games after Garrett Richards and three relievers combined for a one-hitter in Sunday's 3-1 win over Houston. Wilson (1-2, 2.70 ERA) gave the Angels (15-17) another solid start in that stretch last Wednesday, when he surrendered two runs over seven innings before Huston Street blew the save in Los Angeles' 4-3 victory over Seattle. "I don't think any club can reach its goals without five guys going out there and giving their team a chance to win," manager Mike Scioscia told MLB's official website. "This week has been incredible, with the length and quality we've got (from our rotation)." Wilson has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his six starts and in each of his past four. The left-hander is also 9-2 with a 3.62 ERA in his last 17 starts at Angel Stadium, with the hosts winning 14 of those. In his only career start against the Rockies, Wilson yielded one run over eight innings of a 7-2 road win in June Former Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau has the most experience facing Wilson, but he's just 2 for 17 with one home run in their matchups. Nick Hundley has been a bright spot for Colorado, batting.415 over a 12-game hitting streak. Wilson has received a total of six runs from the offense over his last five outings and owns a major league-low 1.80 run-support average. However, that could change as the Angels look to add to Kyle Kendrick's struggles. The right-hander is 0-4 with a ERA in five starts since shutting out Milwaukee over seven innings to win his debut with the Rockies. He'll work on eight days rest after allowing six runs over five innings in an 8-6 loss at San Diego on May 3. Kendrick (1-4, 8.73) has been hurt by the long ball, yielding 10 homers over his last five outings. He's never faced the Angels, though Albert Pujols has gone 5 for 12 with a home run off him dating to his time in St. Louis. Rockies starters, last in the NL with a 5.66 ERA, have been particularly dreadful with an 8.86 mark during a skid that's tied for the fourth longest in franchise history. Colorado (11-17) now hopes to avoid its first 10-game losing streak since April 24-May 7, 2005, following Sunday's 9-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Honestly, good teams don't go through this," third baseman Nolan Arenado said. "We need to find a way to get out of it. I believe we're a good team but right now we're not playing at a high level." This is the first meeting between the Rockies and Angels since June 8-10, 2012, when Mike Trout went 8 for 14, scored eight runs and stole four bases in Los Angeles' three-game road sweep. The Angels have won the last five matchups overall.