Albert Pujols is batting .240 with five home runs and 19 RBI heading into tonight's matchup with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and can be live streamed free here or with a subscription here. Angels fans can watch the game at FS-W, or listen to the action on KLAA 830. Astros fans can catch the game on CSN or listen to KBME 790 or KLAT 1010.
Pujols is a struggling superstar on an Angels team that is chock full of them, and scuffling along with an 11-22 record. 2012 rookie of the year Mike Trout started off the season slowly, but has picked up his play of late; he now is batting .281 with five home runs and 22 RBI but is being overshadowed by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals to whom his career will be linked forever.
The third member of the Angels' supposedly fearsome trio, Josh Hamilton, has been the worst of the three, hitting just .205 with a measly three home runs and 10 RBI. Tonight's matchup concludes a three-game series that Houston has taken the first two games of.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, whose seat must be feeling warmer and warmer with each loss, said, "When we're not doing enough offensively, it comes down to getting breaks, and they haven't been falling our way. You have to create your own breaks, your own momentum and your own margin of error, and that all comes on doing things on a more consistent basis."
The Angels will send Jason Vargas (1-3, 3.72 ERA) to the hill to try and salvage this abysmal series. After a very poor start to the 2013 campaign Vargas has been lights out in his past three starts according to ESPN.com. He has thrown consecutive complete games in his last two starts, and Friday pitched his first career shutout.
He will be opposed by Lucas Harrell (3-3, 5.03 ERA), who has been inconsistent and whose ERA is marred by two awful starts. Twice, Harrell has given up eight runs, but in his five other starts has not allowed more than two.
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