Angels, Cubs face off headed in opposite directions
A brief detour in Chicago amid a 3 1/2 week stretch on the West Coast isn't ideal for the Los Angeles Angels. However, it's another opportunity to continue their recent success.
Looking for a third straight victory, the Angels face the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday in the makeup of a postponed contest from April.
These teams split the first two of a three-game set before the April 14 rubber match was postponed due to poor weather in Chicago. Monday was to be an originally scheduled off day for both clubs.
The Cubs return home on the heels of a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals in St. Louis, then host Colorado and the Cardinals. The Angels come to Chicago after taking three of four at Seattle and playing their previous 16 games on the West Coast. Following this contest, Los Angeles begins an eight-game homestand Tuesday while amid a stretch of 20 straight games without a day off.
"I know it's tough for the Angels in that spot," Cubs manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com.
"I know it's tough for them. They've got to go west to east to go right back."
While the travel is a hassle, the Angels have won seven of nine to move within a game of .500. And they will have Mike Trout available -- a groin issue kept him out of the first two games in Chicago. The Cubs, on the other hand, have lost eight of 10 and hit .183 while totaling eight runs and 41 strikeouts in their last four games.
Trout, 5 for 15 with no homers and six strikeouts at Wrigley Field, is 8 for 14 with seven RBI in the last four games. He's just 2 for 14 with five strikeouts against scheduled Chicago starter Jon Lester (3-4, 3.59 ERA), who looks to avoid dropping four straight starts for the first time since 2010.
The left-hander went 3-1 with a 1.16 ERA in his first seven starts, but has a 10.29 ERA while losing the last three. He gave up a season-high seven earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of a 9-6 loss at Houston on Tuesday.
"I don't really know," Lester told the Cubs' official website. "The results are the results. You can't really run away from those."
The Angels turn to ex-Cub Trevor Cahill (2-5, 6.92 ERA), who looks for better times in June after going 1/3 with an 8.22 ERA in five May starts. The right-hander yielded six runs in 4 1/3 innings of an 8-5 loss at Oakland last Monday.
"I felt I threw better than six runs," Cahill told the Angels' official website. "It's kind of been the story of the season. I just have to figure it out, when I have my good stuff, how to get through it to get a quality outing."
Cahill's 16 home runs allowed this season are among the most in the majors. The Cubs rank among the major league leaders with 94 homers.
Chicago's Anthony Rizzo has a team-leading 16 homers. Rizzo, whose 13-game hitting streak ended during Sunday's 2-1 loss to St. Louis, is batting .314 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 10 interleague contests in 2019. The Cubs are 5-5 in those games.
Los Angeles' Albert Pujols went deep for a second straight game in Sunday's 13-3 rout of the Mariners, and has eight RBI in the last three. He hit his 57th career home run against the Cubs in April.
--Field Level Media
