O’s Bid For Halos Sweep

Chris Tillman takes the mound as the Orioles look to sweep the Halos.

The Baltimore Orioles will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday as the two sides close out a series on the West Coast.

First pitch at Angels Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif., is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. ET.

After losing two of three against the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, Baltimore (55-44, 29-21 road) has taken two games from the Angels, baseball’s best team at home.

On Tuesday night the Orioles defeated the Angels 4-2 for the second consecutive night, getting a strong outing from starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez. J.J. Hardy added a pair of RBI doubles while Jonathan Schoop homered to left.

The Angels closed the gap thanks to Mike Trout’s 24th home run of the year, but the Orioles’ bullpen closed out the game to record an eighth road win in 11 games.

Los Angeles (59-40, 34-18 home) had won 10 straight home series before Tuesday’s defeat. Now the club will look to salvage a result from Wednesday’s night game.

Josh Hamilton went 0 for 3 in his third game as DH in the last four. Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the media that the slugger is suffering from tightness in his legs, which means he’ll likely start in a DH role once more on Wednesday.

The Angels, who had won 21 of 25 games before this current slide of three losses in four, will send Jered Weaver (10-6, 3.43 ERA) to the mound Wednesday.

Weaver has gone 3-0 in his last five starts. The right-hander pitched six innings on Friday against the Seattle Mariners, yielding two earned runs on six hits while chalking up eight strikeouts. He left the game, which the Halos went on to win 3-2, with a no decision.

The 31-year-old has had a solid season, allowing three or fewer runs in 14 of his 21 starts. The Angels are 13-7 when Weaver starts.

• Weaver is 6-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts against the Orioles

The Orioles will counter with Chris Tillman (7-5, 4.03 ERA).

Tillman has gone 0-1 in his last four starts with a 3.46 ERA. On Friday, the right-hander allowed two runs on four hits against the A’s, but the O’s eventually succumbed 5-4, leaving Tillman with a no decision.

However, the 26-year-old has had success in a limited sampling against the Halos.

• Tillman is 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA against the Angels, including 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA at Angel Stadium.

A win for Baltimore on Wednesday will help the club continue its run of good form at the top of the AL East. The O’s currently lead the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays by four games.

For the Angels, a win will help the club stay within touching distance of the AL-West leading Athletics, who currently own a two-game advantage.

Josh Hamilton has been limited to DH duties in 3 of the last 4 games.

Baltimore Orioles at Los Angeles Angels odds for 07/23/2014

Los Angeles (-155) opened as the favorite over Baltimore (+145) on the moneyline.

With two victories this week, the Orioles have now beaten the Angels in six of the last seven head-to-head matchups. The club has also won seven of its last nine trips to Anaheim.

Some other trends to consider:

• Baltimore is 40-24 in night games
• Los Angeles is 44-29 in night games
• Baltimore is 14-8 vs. AL West opponents
• Los Angeles is 10-9 vs. AL East opponents
• Baltimore is 41-31 vs. right-handed pitching
• Los Angeles is 39-26 vs. right-handed pitching
• Baltimore is 12-5 in the month of July
• Los Angeles is 14-5 in the month of July

The total opened at 7 1/2 but quickly climbed to 8.

The total has gone under in seven of Baltimore’s last 10 games, as well as four of the Angels’ last five.

The total has gone under in four of the last five head-to-head matchups, as well as seven of the last nine the two clubs have played in Anaheim.

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After Wednesday’s series finale in Anaheim, Baltimore will close out a 10-game West Coast swing with four games against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, starting Thursday.

The Angels will stay home and host the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers this weekend, beginning a four-game set on Thursday.

Following this weekend’s action, the Orioles will host the Angels for three games next week, starting on Tuesday.

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