Photo credit: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s kick off a nine-game three-city road trip on Tuesday against the Angels in Anaheim. The Angels took two out of three from the A’s last week and started the A’s on a five-game losing streak.  The teams are currently tied for third place in the AL West with identical records of 29-30. The Angels are playing the Chicago Cubs on Monday, and if they win, they will be 1/2 game ahead of the A’s. If they lose, they will be 1/2 game behind the A’s.

The A’s had won 10 in a row before losing two to the Angels last week in Oakland. The A’s then were swept by Houston Astros over the weekend and are hoping to regain their mojo. The A’s will have to find a way to quiet the bats of several of the Angels’ players. They know what Albert Pujols and Mike Trout can do. The Angels’ third baseman Tommy La Stella is having a career year. La Stella has been solid so far and can really handle the bat. David Fletcher is also another surprise. The young man is hitter over .300 and playing well at shortstop. Second baseman Luis Rengifo had several critical hits in the series last week. Right fielder Kole Calhoun and rookie Cesar Puello also came through for the Halos. Puello, in his first game as an Angel last Wednesday, had two singles and a home run in the Angels’ 12-7 win.

The pitching matchups for Tuesday will be Frankie Montas going against Griffin Canning. Montas, who is 6-2 with a 2.81 ERA, has been the A’s ace. Montas has allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 starts this year. Canning is 2-1, and his ERA is 3.06. He pitched very well against the A’s last week. He went six innings and allowed one run and three hits. On Wednesday, Daniel Mengden will pitch for the Green and Gold. Mengden is 1-1, and has a 3.05 ERA. Mengden came into the game last Wednesday after Liam Hendriks pitched the first inning. Mengden’s line was 4 1/2 innings of work and allowed just one run. The Angels will counter with Felix Pena. The Angels may also use an “opener” to start the game and bring in Pena after the first inning. Pena has come in six times in his last seven outings after the first inning.

Mike Fiers (4-3, 4,78 ERA) will go on Thursday. Fiers has a 2.82 ERA in his last seven starts. The Angels will send lefty Tyler Skaggs to the hill to pitch against the A’s. Skaggs had a rocky month in May as he posted a 5.29 ERA in six starts.

The games between the two teams are always entertaining. It’s Northern California against Southern California. The A’s want to get another winning streak going, while the Angels want to continue to make life miserable for the A’s. As always, it should be fun.