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Wells faces Jays in Halos' home opener

Apr 8, 2011 - 2:56 PM (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will unveil their 2011 team for the first time in front of their home crowd this evening, not to mention a new acquisition who's quite familiar with the team's upcoming opponent.

Vernon Wells had spent his entire 14-year professional career with the Toronto Blue Jays organization before being traded to the Angels this past January. The veteran outfielder made three All-Star teams and won three Gold Gloves in his 12 major-league seasons in Toronto and ranks second on the franchise's all-time list in hits (1,529), home runs (223) and runs batted in (813).

"It'll be good to see him again," Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero told his team's official site. "He was the face of this franchise for such a long time. He is a tremendous person on and off the field."

Wells has yet to make much of an impression on the field for his new team, however, having started his first season as a Angel in a 3-for-27 slump.

On the other hand, the Blue Jays have gotten along fine so far without their longtime slugger. Toronto won four times in a six-game span on its season- opening homestand, recording series victories over both defending AL Central champion Minnesota and Oakland.

The Jays did come up short in their attempt to sweep the Athletics, though, with Oakland salvaging Thursday's series finale by rallying for a 2-1 triumph.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead into the top of the eighth inning behind a terrific outing by Romero, but the lefty surrendered a leadoff double to Andy LaRoche and exited following a sacrifice bunt that brought the tying run to third. Reliever Jason Frasor then struck out Coco Crisp, but his pitch got past catcher J.P. Arencibia, allowing LaRoche to score and Crisp to reach first base.

Crisp then stole both second and third before crossing the plate on Conor Jackson's two-out single.

Romero was charged with yielding one run on four hits and struck out five over a 7 1/3-inning no-decision.

Toronto mustered only four hits in the setback, with Jayson Nix knocking in the team's lone run with a sixth-inning single. The offense is expected to get a boost for Friday's matchup, however, with 2010 AL home run king Jose Bautista set to return to the lineup after missing the entire Oakland series for the birth of his daughter.

The Angels head into their home opener off a 3-3 road trip that got off to a rocky start, as Mike Scioscia's squad dropped three of four bouts to Kansas City in the first leg of the swing. Anaheim then took both tests of a two-game set with the badly-slumping Tampa Bay Rays, completing the sweep behind a gem from pitcher Dan Haren in Wednesday's finale.

Haren held the Rays to one run and four hits over the first 7 2/3 innings of the Angels' 5-1 victory, with the standout right-hander also notching six strikeouts without walking a batter.

"I probably had better stuff in Kansas City [his first start of the season], but I only made one or two mistakes today," Haren said afterward. "I went with a lot of cutters and splits with eight lefties in their lineup. They never really got a rally going."

Mark Trumbo went 3-for-4 with an RBI single to lead the Anaheim offense, while Alberto Callaspo helped back Haren with a solo homer in the fourth inning.

Ervin Santana will try to follow Haren's lead when he takes the ball for the Angels in the opener of this three-game series. The 17-game winner from a year ago got a no-decision in his 2011 debut, though he left last Saturday's clash at Kansas City with his team clinging to a one-run lead.

Santana worked 6 2/3 innings in that game and permitted three runs while striking out six. He was denied a win, however, after the Royals scored twice off reliever Kevin Jepsen in the eighth to move ahead.

The 28-year-old Santana, who's 41-23 overall at Angel Stadium over his seven- year tenure in the majors, had great success against Toronto last season. The right-hander won all three of his 2010 encounters with the Blue Jays -- two of which were complete games -- and yielded just five runs and 11 hits over a combined 25 innings pitched.

In nine lifetime meetings with Toronto, Santana is 5-3 with a 4.22 ERA.

The Blue Jays counter with promising youngster Kyle Drabek, who displayed his considerable talent by putting together a dominating first start of the season.

Drabek carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of last Saturday's game against Minnesota and gave up only one hit and one run over seven outstanding innings to record his first career major-league victory.

The 23-year-old, one of the key pieces acquired by Toronto in last year's blockbuster trade that sent ace hurler Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, also finished with seven strikeouts while walking three.

Drabek made three starts after receiving a promotion to the majors last September and lost all three while posting a 4.76 ERA. The former Phillies' first-round choice compiled a 14-9 record and a 2.94 ERA for Double-A New Hampshire prior to being brought up.

Anaheim won six of nine matchups from Toronto a year ago, though the clubs did split six games held at Angel Stadium.