Angels aim for three-game sweep in Baltimore (Jun 30, 2018)
BALTIMORE -- The resilient Los Angeles Angels can finish a three-game sweep of the struggling Baltimore Orioles on Sunday at Camden Yards.
Los Angeles won the opener 7-1 on Friday and beat the Orioles 6-2 on a sweltering Saturday afternoon.
The Angels entered the series on a six-game losing streak, but will leave Baltimore very much alive in the American League wild-card race.
On Saturday, Mike Scioscia managed his 3,000th regular-season game for the Angels, not that he has kept count.
"You don't think about it," said Scioscia, who has been with the club since 2000 and is 1,613-1,387 (.538 winning percentage). "It's 3,000, one game at a time."
The Orioles have lost seven straight and fell to 0-15 against AL West opponents. Manager Buck Showalter vows the team will keep fighting and try to find bright spots.
"It's been tougher on our fans and our players. I don't look at it that way," said Showalter, whose team has lost 17 of 18 at home. "All things considered, it's an unbelievable way to do something you love and be able to pay the bills with it."
Deck McGuire (0-0, 6.08 ERA) will start for the Angels in place of John Lamb, who had an MRI on his left elbow that revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Lamb will undergo UCL reconstruction surgery in Los Angeles.
The Angels have seven starting pitchers on the disabled list.
As a result, they will be leaning on McGuire to help stabilize the rotation. However, he has made only two previous major league starts among his 12 appearances and has never faced Baltimore.
Los Angeles had a positive development with phenom Shohei Ohtani, who hit in a simulated game Saturday at Angel Stadium. Ohtani has a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow. The team is hoping he can avoid Tommy John surgery.
"There definitely be a consensus from the medical staff on how he feels," Scioscia said. "We'll see if he has enough velocity to go out there and play."
Ohtani underwent stem-cell therapy and received a platelet-rich plasma injection to heal a damaged ligament. He was given the OK to begin batting practice Thursday.
Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.20 ERA) is looking to help pull the Orioles from their doldrums. However, he lost his last four decisions and has not completed seven innings in any of his last eight starts.
In his last outing, Gausman was solid in earning a no-decision, allowing one run and five hits in six innings of a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He was effective managing his pitch count throughout the game.
"That's huge," he said. "Kind of seems like that's what I do every start lately is kind of get in jams the first inning, throw a lot of pitches. It's always big to kind of bounce back and have a quick inning."
Gausman is 1-3 with a 5.97 ERA in five starts against the Angels.
Baltimore also received some bad news on the injury front. Reliever Darren O'Day opted to have season-ending surgery on his injured left hamstring. The recovery time is six months, according to Showalter.
O'Day also missed more than a month with a hyperextended elbow. The sidearmer is 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA in 20 games this season. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list Friday.
Showalter said O'Day has not yet finalized the time and place of the procedure.
