SoCal MLB Preview

LA Angels (20-13) at Kansas City (14-16), 5:10 pm
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Every time Joe Saunders has recorded a win this season, Ervin Santana has matched the feat the very next day. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim would like nothing more than to continue that pattern. Santana hopes to join Saunders in the American League's six-win club on Sunday when they start a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals. Each time Saunders (5-0, 2.48 ERA) has won a game this season, Santana has followed with one of his own, often in spectacular fashion. That pattern has even carried over to road games, where Santana is 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 2008 after going 7-17 with a 5.89 ERA in his first two seasons. If Santana - who has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his six starts this season - wins again on Monday, he would join the New York Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang and Saunders as the only the six-game winners in the AL. He would also become the fourth pitcher in Angels history to start a season 6-0 or better, joining Saunders, teammate Jered Weaver in 2006 and Aaron Sele in 2004. The righthander picked up his fourth win in as many starts in Wednesday's 6-1 win over Oakland, allowing one unearned run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings. His counterpart on the mound will be Brett Tomko (1-3, 6.26) who hasn't won since his first start of the season on April 6. The righthander extended his winless streak to four games with a no-decision in Tuesday's 9-5 win over Texas, tossing just 3 1/3 frames while allowing five runs and seven hits to go along with three walks.

NY Mets (16-13) at LA Dodgers (17-14), 7:10 pm
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - When Chad Billingsley and Oliver Perez are going right, they are among the most prolific strikeout artists in the game. When they are off, however, opponents can count on a fair share of free passes. The Dodgers eye a strong start from Billingsley on Monday against Perez and the New York Mets when the teams open a three-game set at Dodger Stadium. Billingsley (1-4, 5.20 ERA) has struck out 37 batters over his last four starts, but is just 1-3 in that span primarily due to his inability to keep his walks down, as he has issued 13 in that time. However, the righthander picked up his first win of the season in Wednesday's 13-1 rout of the Florida Marlins. Billingsley overcame four walks, yielding just one run and three hits with eight strikeouts over seven innings. Much like his pitching counterpart on Monday, Perez (2-2, 4.03) has struggled with control issues, although poor defense hampered him in his second straight loss in Wednesday's 13-1 setback vs. Pittsburgh. He recorded just five outs but was charged with seven runs - just two earned - and five walks in his second consecutive loss. The lefthander, who has twice finished among the leaders in the National League in strikeouts in his seven-year career, is also among the league leaders in walks allowed with 21 despite having pitched just 29 innings this season. Perez has walked four or more batters in each of his last three starts.