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September 19, 2016 of 17

Clips

(September 19, 2016)


Today’s Clips Contents

FROM THE LA TIMES (Page 3)

Matt Shoemaker pays visit to Angels teammates before they beat the

Blue Jays, 4-0

FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 4)

Alex Meyer is sharp as Angels blank Blue Jays, 4-0

Angels notes: Matt Shoemaker is now symptom free

On deck: Angels at Rangers, Monday, 5 p.m.

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 9)

Statcast of the Day: Trout’s slide dazes Jays

Meyer, Trout lead Angels in blanking Jays

Swarm of bees delay Blue Jays-Angels game

Shoemaker grateful for support after injury

Chacin faces Texas in second start since return to rotation

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 15)

Angels drop Blue Jays into No. 2 wild-card spot with shutout


FROM THE LA TIMES

Matt Shoemaker pays visit to Angels teammates before they beat the Blue Jays, 4-0

Jesse Dougherty

Just when it seemed like nothing could distract the Angels from their fantasy football teams Sunday morning, Matt Shoemaker walked through the clubhouse.

It wasn’t Shoemaker’s first time back since a 105-mph line drive fractured his skull two weeks ago. The pitcher stopped by Angel Stadium a few times during this 10-game homestand, when his head felt normal and he wanted to get out of the house.

But any Shoemaker sighting these days incites cheery hellos from his coaches and teammates.

“The guys are great. It’s just welcoming, happy to see me,” Shoemaker said before the Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, on Sunday. “I’m sometimes at home going crazy, haven’t been able to be up here too much. It’s good.”

On Sept. 4, Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager hit a line drive that connected with the right side of Shoemaker’s head. A CT scan revealed a small skull fracture and a hematoma. He underwent brain surgery that night in Seattle after a third CT scan showed the bleeding had not stopped.

Now Shoemaker is resting at home — when he’s not chasing around his 1-year-old son Brady — and is expecting to be at the park every day when the Angels return from their seven-game trip.

“Great to see Shoe. … He’s just healing up nicely and I know he’s excited and anxious to get back in some physical drills and start to throw again. That won’t happen until the off-season, but he’s ready,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Shoemaker, who is 9-13 with a 3.88 earned-run average, hasn’t thought too much about pitching. He has received support from players who have suffered similar injuries and said that Seager has texted him every other day to check in.

The time away from the field has left him restless at times, but Shoemaker’s focus is on properly healing. He is not sure whether he will be allowed to watch from the dugout when he returns to the park, or when his rehabilitation plan will be nailed down.

There are only two things Shoemaker can do as the Angels hit the last leg of their season: Get follow-up scans and wait.

“It’s only been two weeks so far,” Shoemaker said. “I want to be here, but I get it.”


A delayed first win

Alex Meyer had his best start to date with the Angels — and collected his first major league win in four tries — throwing five innings and striking out seven batters.

The Angels knocked the Blue Jays into second place in the American League wild-card standings. But the most interesting moment of Sunday’s game involved bees.

Before Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman eased into his wind up in the third inning, Albert Pujols stepped out of the batter’s box and pointed at a swarm of bees in shallow right field. That prompted every player on the field to vacate the area, and first baseman Edwin Encarnacion swatted at bees with his glove. Play resumed after a 13-minute delay.

“We got to share the world,” Scioscia said. “That’s the best way I could put it.”

Once the bees surrendered, Meyer pushed past the fourth inning. The offense built him a two-run lead using a run-scoring groundout by Juan Graterol in the second and a single by Pujols that drove in Mike Trout in the fifth.

The Angels scored two runs in the seventh, ensuring that Meyer left the park a winner.

“It’s something you think about for a long time,” said Meyer, who, because he’s a rookie, will wear a “Cat in the Hat” suit on the team’s flight to Texas. “I don’t say to have the monkey off your back, but to be able to get that it’s pretty special.”

Jett Bandy has back spasms

Catcher Jett Bandy left the the Angels’ game with Toronto on Saturday night because of back spasms, and Scioscia said Bandy will be monitored daily during the team’s final trip of the season.

The rookie is hitting .238 with eight home runs in 193 at-bats. Graterol started at catcher Sunday and finished 0 for 4 with a run batted in and a strikeout.

FROM OC REGISTER

Alex Meyer is sharp as Angels blank Blue Jays, 4-0

By J.P. HOORNSTRA / STAFF WRITER

ANAHEIM – The Angels will play six games at home after today, none for another week. They must win all of them to finish 2016 with a winning record at Angel Stadium.


Sure, there are the cynics who relish each loss as an opportunity to gain a better draft position. For everyone else – especially the players whose spot on the 2017 roster isn’t assured – the home stretch is an opportunity to take something positive into the offseason.

Alex Meyer is in that group. For him, weekends like this one help.

By beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, in front of an announced crowd of 36,270, the Angels won back-to-back games for the first time in two weeks. They played an eminently watchable brand of baseball – setting aside the 13 minutes when a swarm of bees forced the players off the field.

Meyer (1-3) collected his first major league win by throwing five shutout innings.

“It’s something you think about for a long time,” Meyer said. “To be able to get that, it’s pretty special. It was fun. It was against a good team. I can’t really put it into words, but it was a fun day.”

The 26-year-old right-hander, whom the Angels acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, pitched like a bona fide major leaguer for maybe the first time as an Angel. He limited the Blue Jays to a single, a double and three walks. Meyer’s five innings and seven strikeouts were personal bests in a career that consists of seven games.

Five of Meyer’s first six outs came via strikeout. All five ended with a spiked curveball, which was effective early on next to his changeup and a fastball that touched 97 mph.

Command has been Meyer’s biggest obstacle in his young career, but throwing 47 of 79 pitches for strikes was sufficient on Sunday.

“We’re not trying to build a five-inning pitcher or a six-inning pitcher. As that pitch efficiency leaves you, that’s what you’re going to be pegged in, because you only have so many quality pitches in a single game,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “With his stuff and striking out so many guys early, I think that he’s going to be that guy that’s going to routinely run higher pitch counts.”

Relievers Jose Valdez, Deolis Guerra, J.C. Ramirez and A.J. Achter each threw a scoreless inning to complete the Angels’ 11th shutout of the season. Three of the shutouts were started by Hector Santiago, who was traded to Minnesota to for Meyer and Ricky Nolasco in August.

Albert Pujols, Rafael Ortega and Cliff Pennington each collected two of the Angels’ 10 hits. Ortega scored the Angels’ first run on a bases-loaded groundout in the second inning against Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman (9-9).


Pujols hit a double in the fourth inning, the 601st of his career, to scoreMike Trout with the Angels’ second run. Jose Bautista’s throw from right field appeared to beat Trout, but for the second time in the series he deftly reached around a tag attempt.

Trout and Pujols had an easier time scoring the Angels’ third and fourth runs during a seventh-inning rally.

The game was delayed by 13 minutes when a swarm of bees gathered in shallow right field in the third inning. Trout was on first base. It might have been the most stress he felt all day (his beloved Philadelphia Eagles don’t play until Monday night).

“I looked at (Toronto first baseman Edwin) Encarnacion,” Trout said. “He had about 12 flying around him, landing on him. Then we looked up and there were a bunch of them above.

“It’s funny,” Trout continued. “It just randomly happens to us.”

A swarm of bees gathered on a shotgun microphone behind home plate during a spring training game between the Angels and Royals last year. Two games at Angel Stadium in 2013 were delayed due to bees. This time, the swarm flew away without assistance.

“We’ve got to share the world,” Scioscia said.

For Meyer, the win was due in part to YouTube.

Before he went to bed the last couple nights, Meyer said he spent time on the video-sharing website. He dug up some clips of his junior season at the University of Kentucky. His arm slot was higher back then and his posture was more upright. Meyer said he stood 6-7 in his final year of college, so there was no growth spurt to blame.

But in 2013, a bout with right biceps tendinitis led Meyer to drop his arm slot. It’s been “stuck” ever since, he said.

Now, Meyer thinks a five-year old YouTube clip might hold the key to his success.

“It’s just an adjustment that needs to be made to help to build consistency,” he said.

Hanging in Meyer’s locker was a unfitting reward for his efforts: A Cat In The Hat costume, tailored less than perfectly for his lanky frame.

The Angels designated their postgame flight into Dallas as “rookie dress-up day.” The winning pitcher gathered his things, slipped into costume, and then he was gone with the tip of his hat.


Angels notes: Matt Shoemaker is now symptom free


ANAHEIM – Sunday marked two weeks since a 105-mph line drive ended Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker’s season.

Other than a north-south scar on the side of his head, a visible reminder of the surgery needed to stop bleeding inside his skull, Shoemaker seemed no different in his first interview with reporters since the frightening play.

The pitcher said he is symptom-free.

“Next homestand I’ll be here every day,” Shoemaker said. “It’ll be nice to get back here, for sure.”

With no sense of urgency to get Shoemaker back on a mound, the Angels are proceeding with caution. His workouts these days consist of chasing around his son, Brady, who turns 2 in January.

Shoemaker said he might not be allowed to watch games from the dugout when he returns. If he is in the dugout, he might be required to wear a helmet to protect him from foul balls.

More than that, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said doctors have expressed concern that Shoemaker be “kind of quiet and not have to get too excited right now. ... It’s more along those lines.”

Already a couple silver linings have emerged.

Scioscia said that Shoemaker has an opportunity to begin his offseason regimen earlier than normal and space out his training as needed. For a pitcher who has a 7.08 career ERA in 12 April games, that could be a useful luxury.

Plus, Shoemaker has some new friends. He isn’t the first major league pitcher to be hospitalized by a batted ball. When the group gained a new member, Shoemaker and wife Danielle gained a support system they didn’t know existed.

“All their wives reached out to my wife, which was great,” he said. “The support staff’s been awesome.”

Shoemaker said he and his agent discussed the possibility of wearing protective headgear when he returns to the mound, but he hasn’t tried anything on for size just yet.

As with everything, Shoemaker has the luxury of time.


“If it fits and it’s comfortable it’s realistic,” he said, “I’ll give it a shot.”

Also

RHP Jhoulys Chacin will start the opener of the Angels’ three-game series in Texas Monday. Chacin (5-8, 5.43) allowed just one run in his last start Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. His previous four appearances had been as a reliever. … Jett Bandy was held out of the starting lineup for the second straight day while dealing with back spasms. Scioscia said the rookie catcher is “a little stiff.” … Garrett Richards reported no ill effects one day after a 20-pitch bullpen session, his first since he began a throwing program to recover from a partially torn ligament in his right elbow. Richards said he will accompany the team this week on the road. ... Scioscia passed Earl Weaver for 23rd on the all-time manager’s win list with 1,481.

On deck: Angels at Rangers, Monday, 5 p.m.


Where: Globe Life Park TV: Fox Sports West, 5 p.m. Did you know? The Rangers have the American League’s best home record at 48-24. Only the Chicago Cubs (52-23) have a better home record than Texas. THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP JHOULYS CHACIN (5-8, 5.43) Vs. Rangers: 0-1, 3.00 At Globe Life Park: 0-1, 4.50 Hates to face: Jonathan Lucroy, 5 for 14 (.357), 2 doubles Loves to face: Carlos Beltran, 2 for 11 (.182) RANGERS LHP MARTIN PEREZ (10-10, 4.20) Vs. Angels: 2-3, 3.33 Hates to face: Yunel Escobar, 5 for 11 (.455) Loves to face: Kole Calhoun, 2 for 15 (.133) UPCOMING MATCHUPS Tuesday: Angels RHP Daniel Wright (0-3, 7.04) at Rangers RHP A.J. Griffin (7-4, 4.78), 5 p.m., FSW Wednesday: Angels RHP Jered Weaver (11-12, 5.17) at Rangers (TBA,) 5 p.m., FSW


FROM ANGELS.COM

Statcast of the Day: Trout’s slide dazes Jays

By Jack Baer / MLB.com |

ANAHEIM -- Another game, another spectacular slide from Mike Trout, who yet again displayed a combination of awareness and athleticism on the basepaths to steal a run at home despite Jose Bautista's throw in Sunday's 4-0 win over Toronto.

In the fifth inning, Trout managed a double on a line drive with an aggressive decision to go for second. Trout then sped for home on a single from Albert Pujols in the subsequent at-bat.

The throw from Bautista to home seemed to beat Trout, but Trout avoided the tag from Dioner Navarro by sliding well right of home plate. As Navarro extended his glove to reach for Trout, Trout snuck his left arm in under the glove to score.

"That's why he's Mike Trout. He's one of the best players in the game," Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman said. "He does it with the bat, with his legs, with the glove. He's an all-around great player and he's one of my buddies. He's definitely a nuisance out there and a tough AB. Just one of the guys that you have to do your best to limit the damage."

Trout made the sprint from second to home in 7.43 seconds, according to Statcast™, which is tied for his eighth-fastest of 2016 and not all that close to his best. Back on May 1, he jetted from second to score on a C.J. Cron single in 6.63 seconds.

The big difference between the two plays was that there was one out on Pujols' single, so Trout had to pause to see if the ball might be caught. As a result, his first step was .27 seconds, which is the time elapsed from contact to moving toward third. On May 1, however, there were two outs, and Trout was moving on contact, as Statcast™ had his first step measured at 0.00 seconds.

The other factor working in Trout's favor on Sunday was Bautista's throw did not have the kind of zip typical of his arm, and the myriad of injuries he has dealt with this year -- including turf toe and a left knee sprain -- could be a factor.

Statcast™ clocked Bautista's throw at 89.8 mph, which is more than 3 mph slower than his Statcast™ peak. Almost exactly a year ago, on Sept. 22, 2015, against the Yankees, Bautista threw out Dustin Ackley at third base with a 92.9 mph laser.

Even though Bautista's throw was well off his peak velocity, it was still in time for what should have been a simple out for Trout. Except Trout made a simple way to get him out less than simple, as he has tended to do in his career.


On Saturday, Trout was beat by another throw and ended up beating it back. He made a similar slide at third on his 26th steal of the season that left Josh Donaldson tagging air, and then scored a batter later. Trout admitted after Sunday's game that both throws had beaten him, and he knew as he slid that he would need to do something different.

"He's an athlete. Mike plays the game one way: full out," Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "Whether he's running the bases or in the outfield, he gets after it and he's made some good slides."

Meyer, Trout lead Angels in blanking Jays

By Gregor Chisholm and Jack Baer / MLB.com |

ANAHEIM -- The Blue Jays traveled to the West Coast looking to make up some ground in the American League East and take a stranglehold over the first Wild Card spot. The Angels made sure that didn't happen.

The Angels played the role of spoiler once again on Sunday afternoon as right-hander Alex Meyer tossed five scoreless innings and struck out seven in a 4-0 victory that featured a 13-minute delay in the bottom of the third inning as a swarm of bees descended upon the field.

Toronto dropped to one game back of Baltimore for the first Wild Card spot and also fell four games back of the Red Sox in the division, after Boston defeated the Yankees on Sunday night.

Angels center fielder Mike Trout doubled, scored two runs -- including one in the fifth inning on a nifty slide to avoid the tag -- and reached base three times in the victory. Albert Pujols also reached base three times by going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI single, a walk and a run scored. Juan Graterol added an RBI grounder and C.J. Cron chipped in with a sacrifice fly.

Toronto right-hander Marcus Stroman took the loss and fell to 0-4 in September even though he has not allowed more than three earned runs during any of those outings.

The Blue Jays appeared to be in a strong position after taking the first two games of this series, but they ended up dropping the final two and a struggling offense continued to be the main culprit. Toronto was limited to four hits in the series finale and put only three runners in scoring position against Meyer and four relievers.

"They're human beings," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "I don't care how good they've been. Nobody likes to struggle. It's a pressure business. These guys are right there in the arena, not on the outside looking in. It's a battle and the reason they're here is that they're great competitors, talented guys. Sometimes you run into a road block and you struggle."


Baltimore took over sole possession of the first Wild Card spot with a 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers and Mariners pulled within two games with victories over the Indians and Astros.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Trout does it again: A day after his Matrix-style slide into third, Trout made another excellent slide to give the Angels their second run. Trout ran for home from second on a Pujols single, but seemed to get beat by Jose Bautista's throw from right. However, Trout slid well right of home plate, with no part of his body touching the plate until his hand slipped in under Dioner Navarro's outstretched glove. Trout made the sprint from second to home in 7.43 seconds, according to Statcast™, which is tied for his eighth-fastest of 2016.

"He's an athlete. Mike plays the game one way: full out," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Whether he's running the bases or in the outfield, he gets after it and he's made some good slides."

Keeping it close: Toronto's defense has been a major concern this month with 14 errors in 16 games but Troy Tulowitzki did come up with a very nice play in the bottom of the fourth inning that kept the Blue Jays close. With a runner on third and one out, Graterol hit a slow grounder to shortstop. Tulowitzki charged the ball and made a perfect throw home to get the sliding Andrelton Simmons by a couple of feet. That kept the score 1-0.

"It's tough, that's why veteran players are so important," Tulowitzki said. "They've been there, done that before, know how to take professional at-bats, know how to turn it around this time of the month, not get in their own head. That's what I like about this clubhouse, we have a lot of those guys.

Going retro: Meyer has worked to get a higher release point like he had in college. Given that Meyer is among the tallest pitches in baseball at 6-foot-9, raising his arm slot and posture on the mound led to some devastating angles against right-handed batters. Meyer had moved away from the old delivery when he went through what he described as biceps tendinitis in 2013.

Running wild: Edwin Encarnacion led off the top of the fourth inning with a double, which marked the 200th of his career in a Toronto uniform. The Blue Jays hoped that would be the start of a rally but instead Encarnacion made an ill-advised decision to try for third base on grounder up the middle. Second baseman Cliff Pennington was in perfect position to field the ball and made a clean throw to third as Encarnacion was thrown out by a wide margin. It marked the second consecutive game that Toronto had a baserunner thrown out at third with less than two outs after Devon Travis made a similar mistake on Saturday night.

QUOTABLE "We're right there, we play those teams that are right there with us, too, with our remaining


schedule. We like where we're at, obviously we know we can play better and hopefully that comes out real soon." -- Tulowitzki on the standings

"Today was electric. He had great angle, great velocity, spinning the ball well, threw some good changeups ... he was very pitch-efficient and effective. That's a good lineup over there." -- Scioscia said on Meyer's scoreless outing

UN-BEE-LIEVABLE The game was delayed for 13 minutes in the bottom of the third inning as a swarm of bees descended upon the field. The bees hovered around first base as Encarnacion started swatting them away with his glove before running across to the other side of the diamond. Home-plate umpire C.B. Bucknor called for time and all of the players went to the third-base side of the field before eventually retreating to their respective dugouts.

It was a sight somewhat familiar to the Angels, as they had a Spring Training game last season delayed to another swarm.

"I don't know if it was the same swarm in Arizona that hit us last year, we've had them occasionally here," Scioscia said. "We've got to share the world. That's the best way I can put it."

UNDER REVIEW Toronto lost its challenge in the bottom of the sixth inning following a stolen base by Rafael Ortega. After Ortega stole second, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons asked for a review, but following a delay and one minute and two seconds, the call on the field was confirmed and Ortega was awarded his sixth stolen base of the year.

WHAT'S NEXT Blue Jays: Right-hander Marco Estrada (8-9, 3.78) will take the mound in Seattle when the Blue Jays open a three-game series with the Mariners that will have plenty of ramifications on the American League Wild Card race. Estrada was one of the best pitchers in the league during the first half of the season but over his last 10 starts he is 3-6 with a 5.47 ERA. First pitch is at 10:10 p.m. ET.

Angels: The Angels will hit the road as they open a series against the division-leading Rangers on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m. PT. Jhoulys Chacin (5-8, 5.43) will take the mound, looking to follow up a six-inning, one-run return to the rotation.

Swarm of bees delay Blue Jays-Angels game

By Adrian Garro and Jack Baer / MLB.com |

Bees. BEES.


The mere mention of them can strike fear in folks' hearts, and an angry, buzzing swarm of them taking over an infield is enough to drive a bunch of players -- including the Blue Jays and Angels, who fled in the third inning of the Halos' 4-0 win on Sunday -- running for cover:

See Mike Trout's wry smile in that GIF as he walked off the field? As the Angels' TV crew mentioned in the clip atop this post,weather is Trout's favorite off-field interest, not bees ... but it looks like he wasn't particularly spooked by Sunday's invasion.

In fact, speaking with MLB.com's Jack Baer after the game, Trout talked about his vantage point of the bee assault:

"I just looked at Encarnacion and he had about 12 of them on him. Flying around and landed on him. I looked up and there were just a bunch of them above him. I think they went into center field behind the wall. That's where we saw them last."

At any rate, he and everybody else took a break until the unwelcome visitors were dealt with and, after a 13-minute delay, the teams were back on the field.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia had this to say of their guests:

"I don't know if it was the same swarm in Arizona that hit us last year. We've had them occasionally here. We've got to share the world. That's the best way I can put it."

Stay safe, guys!

Shoemaker grateful for support after injury

By Jack Baer / MLB.com |

ANAHEIM -- Matt Shoemaker was back at Angel Stadium on Sunday and plans to stick around for the Angels' final homestand next week.

Shoemaker, with a visible scar on the side of his head, spoke with reporters for the first time since Sept. 4, when he was struck in the head by a line drive and underwent surgery to halt bleeding on his brain. It wasn't the right-hander's first day back at the stadium, but he still had teammates welcoming him back in person and get-well cards from fans waiting in his locker.

"The guys are great. It's just welcoming, happy to see me," Shoemaker said.

Since the surgery, Shoemaker has been heavily observed by the team's medical staff with MRIs and other tests. Outside of that, he's been laying low and watching his 1-year-old son Brady at home.


Shoemaker and his wife Danielle have also discovered a support network of past players and wives who have gone through the same terrifying ordeal.

"The awesome thing is that all their wives reached out to my wife, which was great," Shoemaker said. "You know the support staff has been awesome. Some guys that this has happened to, some of them got her number and reached out to her, talked to her. That's been awesome."

The support hasn't been limited to teammates and other pitchers. Shoemaker estimated that he has texted with Kyle Seager, who hit the line drive that struck him, every other day.

Shoemaker plans to be at Angel Stadium for every game of the final homestand against the Athletics and Astros, but he doesn't expect the team to let him watch from the dugout for precautionary reasons. He won't resume physical drills and throwing until the offseason, but manager Mike Scioscia sees a silver lining for 2017 due to the early shutdown forced by the comebacker.

"I think he has the ability to start things earlier than a normal offseason just because he was shut down a month before the regular season was over," Scioscia said. "I think he can move his timeline up a little bit, and what that will do is spread some things out and not have to go as hard when he will start working out. I think that's going to be a positive this offseason."

Another consequence of Shoemaker's injury has been a spurring of the discussion about protective headgear for pitchers. Understandably, the right-hander's experience has left him a proponent of wearing a special cap or helmet that could protect pitchers from a traumatic brain injury. However, he added the caveat that the headgear would have to be comfortable enough not to impede his pitching.

"If it's comfortable, I'd wear it," he said. "As a pitcher you want to go out there and perform and being comfortable is a big thing. It's been something that I've talked about, whether it's with my agent or other guys. If something can be constructed or produced that's a good fit, I could definitely see people wearing it."

Chacin faces Texas in second start since return to rotation

By Ryan Posner / MLB.com |

Rangers left-hander Martin Perez will look to make it four straight quality starts on Monday night, in the opener of a three-game series against the Angels. Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin will take the mound for the Angels, in what will be the last series between the two American League West rivals this year.


The Rangers have an 8 1/2-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West and their magic number is five. They hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the Indians for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

With three starts before the postseason, including Monday's, Perez is not looking to make any major adjustments as he heads into what would be his second postseason appearance with the Rangers.

"There's no time for that," Perez said. "We don't have time to do practice or prepare something [new]. It's time to win and it's time to compete. The time [for adding things] was Spring Training. Now we just have time to compete and win."

Perez is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA and has held opponents to a .235 average over his string of three straight quality starts. He will be making his career-high -- and team-high -- 31st start of the season. Heading into this year, Perez had not made more than 20 starts in a season through his five-year career.

Chacin returned to the Angels' rotation Wednesday after stint in the bullpen. He's been solid in his last three starts, earning a 0.57 ERA in that span. Chacin picked up a no-decision against the Mariners on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits over six innings, with five strikeouts. His lone start against the Rangers this year came on May 24, when he gave up three runs through six innings to pick up a loss.

Things to know about this game

• The Rangers and Angels have split the 16-game season series thus far. The Rangers have won five of their last seven matchups, though. The Angels won the season series, 12-7, last year.

• Perez's 2.65 ERA at home is the second-lowest in the American League. However, his 4.91 ERA in three starts against the Angels this year is his highest against any divisional opponent.

• Mike Trout is hitting just .188 in 22 career at-bats against Perez, which is the lowest average of any opponent with at least 20 at-bats against him. Carlos Gomez is 4-for-13 with a homer and four RBIs in his career against Chacin.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Angels drop Blue Jays into No. 2 wild-card spot with shutout

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Nothing could spoil Alex Meyer's first big league win. Not even a "The Cat in the Hat" costume the Los Angeles Angels rookie was forced to wear for the team's final road trip of the season.


Meyer gave up two hits in five innings, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols each scored twice and the Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 on Sunday afternoon.

The Blue Jays fell out of a tie with Baltimore for the top AL wild-card spot and lead Seattle by one game for the second spot. Toronto has yet to win a series in September, splitting with Los Angeles.

Meyer (1-3), who addressed the media in a costume several inches too short for his 6-foot-9 frame, struck out a career-best seven and walked three in the longest outing of his career.

"I think that he understands some of the things he needs to get back to from when he pitched in college and where he feels really comfortable throwing the ball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "His stuff out there today was explosive. He had great command, great velocity, he was spinning the ball well, threw some good changeups. Some pitches got away from him, but for the most part, he was very pitch-efficient and effective."

Meyer worked with pitching coach Charles Nagy and special assistant to the general manager Bud Black over the last few days to move his arm slot higher, closer to where it was when he pitched in college at Kentucky. Meyer watched his younger self on YouTube in an effort to match that same delivery.

"We kind of just tried to pick some things from back then and work on trying to stay a little bit taller on the mound and keep my arm slot up a little bit," Meyer said. "It was a good change today."

It led to the success Meyer was seeking.

"It was awesome, it's something that you think about for a long time," Meyer said. "I don't want to say it gets a monkey off your back, but to be able to get that is pretty special. I can't really put it into words but it was a fun day."

Marcus Stroman (9-9) went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out three.

Toronto left seven on base and was a combined 1 for 17 with runners in scoring position in the last two games. However, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said there's no reason to panic. It was simply two off days for the offense.

"There's not a guy out in that room that's not busting his (butt) trying to come through," Gibbons said. "If it was that easy to hit, more people would be doing it. They're competing, we're just coming up short."

The game was delayed for 13 minutes in the bottom of the third inning due to bees on the field.


Stroman allowed runs in the second and fourth innings before Joe Biaginigave up two in the seventh inning.

Trout went from first to third on Pujols' single in the seventh and came home onC.J. Cron's sacrifice fly. AfterAndrelton Simmons walked,Rafael Ortega's flare dropped into shallow left field for a single. Ortega advanced to second on the throw and scored Pujols from third base to cap the scoring.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Angels: C Jett Bandy remained out of the lineup with a sore back. Bandy exited Saturday's game with back spasms after a slide in the first inning.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (8-9, 3.78) opens a series against the Mariners. He has lost his past three starts and five of his last six decisions. He has allowed 12 earned runs in his last 12 2/3 innings. He lost a 2-1 decision to Seattle on July 22 in Toronto and is 0-3 with a 5.82 ERA in three career starts against Seattle.

Angels: RHP Jhoulys Chacin (4-6, 5.44 ERA) will make his second start since coming out of the bullpen, again in place of the injured Tyler Skaggs, when the Angels start a three-game series on the road against the Texas Rangers. Chacin has pitched to a 0.57 ERA in his last three starts and is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances against Texas.

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