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Angels hope to rebound in Toronto

Jun 30, 2012 - 3:06 PM (Sports Network) - The LA Angels of Anaheim will try to bounce back today as they square off with the Toronto Blue Jays in the third portion of a four-game series at Rogers Centre.

Ervin Santana unraveled after three innings and allowed five runs in the bottom of the fourth in Friday's game. The Angels eventually lost 7-5 which snapped their four-game winning streak and dropped them 5 1/2 games behind the Rangers.

"Ervin got through the first couple of innings and in the fourth just missed with some spots." Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Offensively, the Angels were able to produce hits but struggled when it mattered, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving five men on base. Torii Hunter went 3-for-4 with an RBI after going hitless in five at- bats in the series opener.

Albert Pujols hit his third double in two games as his batting average continues to rise. Pujols is now batting .273 for the season with 12 home runs and 47 RBI.

The Angels are still remarkably good on the road recently with a 14-2 mark over their last 16 games away from home.

The Angels will turn the ball over to right-hander Garrett Richards for today's contest. Richards has been doing his best to cement himself as a full- time member of the Angels' rotation with four straight quality starts. He had his least impressive start of the season his last time out with three earned runs and nine allowed hits in 6 2/3 innings. Still, Richards comes in with an impressive 2-0 record and a 1.63 earned run average.

Toronto will counter with Henderson Alvarez. The righty is returning to the mound after soreness in his right elbow sent him to the showers early on Monday. Alvarez received word from team doctors to return to action today.

Thanks to some run support, the right-hander picked up a win on Monday versus Boston. The victory snapped a seven-game streak of starts without a winning decision. Alvarez has surrendered 17 hits, three walks, and nine earned runs while striking out only three in his last nine innings.

Yunel Escobar came up big with an RBI double in the seventh inning to put the Blue Jays on top for good in Friday's bout. Adam Lind added two home runs and knocked in four for Toronto, which snapped a three-game slide. Lind's strong showing brought his average above .200 after a slow start to the season.

"My confidence was pretty good at Triple-A," Lind said. "You can raise your confidence there rather quickly. All I did was work down there, even tonight after the game, I'm working out, staying on the regimen they want me on. I've been here long enough that tonight was good, but the most important thing is tomorrow."

J.P. Arencibia got into the mix on Friday with a double as well.

The Angels and Jays split a four-game series in Anaheim back in early May.