Monday night baseball and we will see the Los Angeles Angels travel to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Tigers in game 1 of their 4 game series. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds have Detroit favored at -117, while the Angels are dogs of +110. The total for the game sits at 10 runs.
Free Analysis: The road hasn't been kind to the Los Angeles Angels, who will try to avoid their third straight series loss away from home when they begin a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park tonight. Los Angeles has lost six of nine on the road but salvaged the final game of its weekend series at Yankee Stadium by slamming four home runs. The Angels are five games behind first-place Texas in the American League West. Pujols and Fielder spent the past half-dozen years regularly squaring off as NL Central rivals and last October, Pujols' St. Louis Cardinals defeated Fielder's Milwaukee Brewers in the league championship series en route to a World Series title. The elite first basemen both bolted for the AL in January, as Pujols signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Angels (49-40) and Fielder inked a nine-year, $219 million deal to play for the Tigers (46-43). After some early struggles, both sluggers are now playing better. Pujols, who didn't hit his first homer until May 6, is batting a career-low .271 with 15 home runs and 53 RBIs. However, he's gone deep three times in his last nine games, including a solo shot in Sunday's 10-8 win over the New York Yankees to help the Angels salvage the finale of a three-game set. Fielder singled to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and scored in Sunday's 4-0 victory over the Orioles. The four-time All-Star, who had three homers and 11 RBIs at the end of a sluggish April, is now batting .301 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs - sixth-most in the AL. The only time Fielder faced the Angels came in June 2010, and he went 1 for 10 with four walks. That lone hit, however, was a two-run homer off Ervin Santana (4-9, 5.75 ERA), the scheduled Los Angeles starter for Monday. A 17-game winner two years ago, Santana owns the AL's third-worst ERA and has yielded at least five runs in five of his last seven starts. His last outing before the All-Star break was a disaster, as he was shelled for eight runs and retired only four batters in a 12-3 loss to Cleveland on July 4. Facing the Tigers could be just what Santana needs, considering he has posted a 2.01 ERA in winning his last four starts in the series, but he hasn't faced them since 2009. Porcello, who has won his last three starts against the Angels, hasn't pitched since Detroit's 7-3 win over Minnesota on July 5. The right-hander permitted a career high-tying 12 hits in 3 2-3 innings, allowing three runs. He is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in his last four starts overall, and the Tigers have won six of his last eight outings. In 13 career games versus the Tigers,Pujols is batting .488 - easily his highest against any team - with four homers and a .604 on-base percentage. Pujols has never faced probable Detroit starter Rick Porcello , but several of his teammates have - with limited success. Alberto Callaspo is batting .176 in 17 at-bats, Erick Aybar is hitting .154 in 13 and Howie Kendrick is 2 for 12.
Free Pick: Were gonna look to the Over in this one. Santana has a nice 2.10 ERA in his last 4 starts vs the Tigers, but he hasn't faced them since 2009 and this year he not pitched well at all. In his last 7 starts Ervin has a 7.91 ERA, while on the road he has a 7.45 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Too many men on base for him to be putting, especially since he does give up allot of longballs (20 for the year). Now if Ervin gets into trouble, the Halos may just leave him in there a bit longer, after using a ton of their pen over the weekend at New York. Detroit averages 4.57 rpg at home, but 5.03 rp/9 off of righties at Comerica, so they should tag him for a bunch here. Rick Prcello has been pitching better of late, but does have a 4.89 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP at home this year and a 5.97 ERA in 5 career starts vs the Halos, with those 5 starts all putting up at least 11 runs on the board. Let's also note that teams are hitting .329 off of him at home this year. Detroit has averaged 6.4 rpg in their last 5 games, while the Angels have put up 5.4 rpg over the same stretch, plus the Over is 10-2 in the Halos last 12 road games. This one should hit at least 12 runs.
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