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Angels-Blue Jays Preview

Aug 22, 2009 - 10:55 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Los Angeles (73-47) at Toronto (56-64), 1:07 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Angels have been one of the best teams in the major leagues over the past several seasons, but consistent success in Toronto has eluded them for much longer.

The Angels will change that with a victory over the Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday.

In the final regular-season meeting, Los Angeles has a chance to post winning records in Toronto in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 20 years.

The AL West-leading Angels (74-47) are seeking their sixth playoff appearance in eight years. Los Angeles, however, has finished above .500 in Toronto only three times since 1990 after winning two of three there last year.

The Angels, who are 3-2 at the Rogers Centre this season, haven't had winning road records in consecutive seasons against the Blue Jays since going 4-2 in 1988 at Exhibition Stadium and 1989 at the former SkyDome.

Los Angeles also needs a victory Sunday to win two straight season series over Toronto for the first time since 2001-02, and a repeat of Saturday's performance would help.

After batting .192 over their previous three games, the Angels totaled 11 hits including home runs from Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera in the 7-3 win. Los Angeles also improved to 6-3 on its 10-game road trip.

Maicer Izturis, who has batted .389 in five games this season against Toronto, added two hits and two RBIs. Guerrero is also hitting .364 in his five matchups this year with the Blue Jays.

The Angels will try to continue that support at the plate for rookie Trevor Bell (1-0, 5.91 ERA), who gets the start and will make his third major league appearance. The right-hander earned his first career victory in Tuesday night's 5-4 win in Cleveland, allowing three runs over 5 1-3 innings and pitching out of an early jam.

"Trevor's shown he's aggressive in the strike zone. I think tonight he showed his moxie," manager Mike Scioscia told the Angels' official Web site. "As he learns some things about how his stuff plays in the big leagues, he'll get a little deeper into games."

He'll face a Blue Jays lineup that's batted .205 over the past four games and is 2 of 12 with runners in scoring position over the last three.

Toronto (56-65) scored its only runs Saturday on Adam Lind's three-run homer and dropped to 1-4 on its nine-game homestand. With two hits, Lind is batting .447 in 12 career games against the Angels.

The Blue Jays have also posted a 6.20 ERA while losing six of seven overall. Sunday's scheduled starter, rookie Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.95), contributed to those woes with his worst performance of the season Tuesday.

In a 10-9 loss to visiting Boston, the left-hander gave up a career-high six runs over 3 2-3 innings in his shortest outing of the season. He did not get a decision and hasn't won in his last three starts.

"I'll be ready next time," Romero told the Blue Jays' official Web site. "This one game is not going to break me."

Romero, who has never faced the Angels, has given up four or more runs in five of his last seven starts for a 6.10 ERA in that span.