MLB Baseball Matchup
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Toronto Blue Jays |
Los Angeles Angels |
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| Teams |
|
|
|
| Toronto Blue Jays |
6½ |
7 |
7 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
-146 |
-130 |
-130 |
Odds subject to change |
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 Toronto ace Roy Halladay couldn't have been much better in his start, yet he might need to be this time.
Halladay will square off against red-hot starter John Lackey on Saturday when the Blue Jays continue their three-game series with AL West-leading Los Angeles at Angel Stadium.
Halladay (9-6, 2.90 ERA) threw his sixth complete game of the season and 10th career shutout on Monday, allowing four singles in a 2-0 win over Seattle. The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner bounced back after allowing five runs against Cincinnati five days earlier.
"It's nice when you go out and feel like everything is there, and it's going to be one of those good ones," the right-hander said.
Halladay had gone winless in his previous three starts after winning four in a row. He leads the majors with 130 1-3 innings pitched.
"It's a matter of trying to be aggressive," Halladay told the Blue Jays' official team Web site. "That's the goal, and the result of it is being able to go deep in the game. More than anything, it's pitching aggressive and just pitching to contact."
Halladay is 5-5 with a 4.80 ERA in 13 career starts against the Angels (52-34), but just 1-3 with a 7.04 ERA in seven outings in Anaheim.
Improving on that record won be easy - Lackey (6-1, 1.44) was named the AL pitcher of the month after going 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA in five June starts. The right-hander has won five straight starts for the second time in his career - he also accomplished the feat May 11-June 1, 2007.
The best of the five starts came Sunday, when Lackey went 8 2-3 innings in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The outing was his ninth after a right triceps strain delayed his season debut until May 14.
"I wanted to come out and pitch well from the get-go and make every start count, because I missed several to begin the season," Lackey told the Angels' site of his fast start.
Lackey is 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA in nine career starts against the Blue Jays (41-46). He has faced them twice already this season, allowing two earned runs in 15 innings and going 1-0.
The Angels have won three straight, including Friday's series-opening 8-2 win. Howie Kendrick, who drove in three runs, and Torii Hunter each homered for Los Angeles, which is 5-2 against Toronto, ensuring its first season series victory in six years.
The Angels also scored more than four runs against the Blue Jays for the first time in 19 meetings. Anderson, who is 9-for-29 (.310) with two homers and seven RBIs lifetime against Halladay, had three hits to boost his average to .265.
"I like to see the results as much as anybody," Anderson said. "The way things have been going for me this year, the results haven't been favorable. But I still have a half a season left to find some holes and contribute."
The Blue Jays lost their third straight and failed to score more than two runs for the fourth time in five games. Joe Inglett has been a rare bright spot offensively for Toronto, batting .429 (12-for-28) with a homer, triple and double over his last seven games.
"We had a couple of innings where we made some mistakes defensively and gave them too many outs," catcher Rod Barajas said. "You give big league ballclubs four or five outs an inning, you're going to get burned."
Pick: Los Angeles Angels
Result: Lost
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