News
Angels' offense carrying the load
Los Angeles (74-49) vs. Detroit (66-58), 7:05 p.m. PT
By Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com
08/25/09 3:30 AM ET
ANAHEIM -- It's no secret that the Angels' offense has been special this season. After all, fans at Angel Stadium on Monday night could see it just by looking up at the scoreboard in right field as the club hosted the Tigers. Eight Angels in the starting lineup had batting averages above .300, and the worst batting average was catcher Mike Napoli's at .294 entering the game. In fact, a week ago, all nine batters in the Angels' lineup in Cleveland had batting averages of .300 or higher, marking the first time since the 1934 Tigers that any Major League team finished a game at least 100 games into a season with each starter batting higher than .300, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "We have very good offense," said Bobby Abreu, who has been one of the club's most consistent hitters this season. "The guys know what they have to do in certain situations and they don't try to do too much. "That's the key." Abreu has helped the Angels offense by bringing his patient approach at the plate to the club along with his high on-base percentage. "Bobby has been as valuable as anything you could talk about on the offensive end," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Bobby's really been the keystone of our lineup. Everything he does from working counts to driving the ball, it's all been a positive for us." But it hasn't only been Abreu, as the club as a whole has been seeing more pitches per at-bat this season by a large margin -- 3.88 entering Monday compared to 3.65 last season, according to baseball-reference.com. Napoli is the only Angels regular who has seen his rate drop, down to 4.14 from 4.16, which is still one of the highest rates on the team. It's translated to an offense that ranks first in the Majors in runs and batting average and ranks second in on-base percentage. Abreu also attributed the Angels' success to their aggressiveness on the basepaths as they are second in the Majors in stolen bases and first in having runners advance from first to third on singles. "It helps because we always seem to have people on base and we're aggressive so the pitchers have to look at the runner and the hitter and can't pay attention to both guys sometimes," Abreu said. "So I think that's what makes our offense great. We have guys get on base and we have speed." The much-improved offense will face a familiar face on Tuesday when former Angels lefty Jarrod Washburn toes the rubber for the Tigers against John Lackey. Washburn has seen a resurgence himself this season as the left-hander has a 3.18 ERA after posting a 4.69 ERA last season with Seattle. Scioscia, who managed Washburn for six seasons in Anaheim, thinks he knows why Washburn has been so successful this season, even though he's struggled recently with the Tigers. "The difference is that we've seen him pitch like 86-87 [miles per hour] in previous seasons, and now he's throwing 90-91 with more success," Scioscia said. "I'm not saying he's totally contingent on velocity, but it can improve some of the things out there." Pitching matchupLAA: RHP John Lackey (8-6, 4.00 ERA)
Lackey endured his worst outing in six weeks on Thursday night in Cleveland, getting hammered for six earned runs on six hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, and striking out three. It was the first time in seven starts, since a July 7 loss to the Rangers, in which he'd yielded more than three earned runs in a game and failed to pitch into the seventh inning. Lackey is seeking win No. 100, a plateau reached by only four Angels pitchers: Nolan Ryan, Frank Tanana, Mike Witt and Chuck Finley. Lackey is 6-0 with a 3.31 ERA in eight career starts against the Tigers. He's 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA at home this season. DET: LHP Jarrod Washburn (8-7, 3.18 ERA)
After making his first four starts for the Tigers at Comerica Park, Washburn gets to take the mound on the road for the first time in three weeks. But even this start is probably going to feel like home, because he pitched the first seven years of his Major League career for the Angels. He is 30-37 for his career at Angel Stadium, but four of those losses came during his past four seasons with the Mariners. Of greater concern are his four starts as a Tiger, during which he has given up 17 earned runs on 24 hits in 25 1/3 innings. Tidbits
Home-plate umpire Tim Welke left Monday's game after getting hit in the facemask by a foul ball by Angels designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero in the fourth inning. ... Napoli's error in the fifth inning on a foul popup on Monday was just the club's third error in the last 98 innings. ... The Angels' game against the A's on Thursday will begin at 7:15 p.m. PT, as it is a makeup game of their scheduled game on April 9, which was postponed because of the death of pitcher Nick Adenhart as well as friends Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson. Jon Wilhite, who survived the crash, will throw out the first pitch on Saturday in a special ceremony with his family and the families of Stewart and Pearson. Monday would have been Adenhart's 23rd birthday. Tickets
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• Wednesday: Angels (Joe Saunders, 9-7, 5.33) vs. Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 10-5, 2.86), 12:35 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Angels (Ervin Santana, 7-6, 6.13) vs. Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 6-12, 4.86), 7:25 p.m. PT
• Friday: Angels (Trevor Bell, 1-1, 9.49) vs. Athletics (Brett Tomko, 3-2, 3.69), 7:05 p.m. PT
Rhett Bollinger is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
