• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Two opposites to do battle in the Queen City

Jun 12, 2007 - 2:31 PM LA Angels (40-24) at Cincinnati (25-39) 7:10 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- With 40 wins, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are tied for the most wins in the majors. With another loss on Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds will be the first National League team to reach 40 losses.

The Angels begin a three-game interleague series with the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Reflective of their teams' fortunes entering the game are the pitchers taking the mound.

The Angels' Kelvim Escobar (7-3, 2.76 ERA) is fifth in the American League in ERA and has won three of his last four starts. He is coming off arguably his best outing of the season, as he yielded just one run and three hits in tossing his second complete game of the season in a 5-1 win last Tuesday over the Minnesota Twins.

The righthander, who has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts, tossed a four-hit shutout in his lone career start against the Reds.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bronson Arroyo (2-7, 5.01), who is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA in five career starts against the Angels. He has lost five straight decisions and has allowed at least six runs in each of his last four outings, nearly doubling his mid-May ERA of 2.64 to over five.

On Wednesday, the righthander surrendered six runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings in a 6-4 setback to the Cardinals.

The Angels are coming off a missed opportunity to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals with a 9-6 loss in the finale on Sunday. Despite the loss, they have won seven of their last nine games.

The Reds, meanwhile, have lost five of their last eight games despite posting a 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians in 12 innings on Sunday. Staff ace Aaron Harang struck out 10 in seven innings and Alex Gonzalez singled home the winning run.