The Angels called up two pitchers prior to Thursday's game against the Red Sox. It is great for the bullpen but the Angels bench is down to three players tonight: Hank Conger, Efren Navarro and John McDonald.
Tonight's lineup is as follows:
- Kole Calhoun RF
- Mike Trout CF
- Albert Pujols 1B
- Josh Hamilton DH
- Howie Kendrick 2B
- David Freese 3B
- Erick Aybar SS
- Chris Iannetta C
- Collin Cowgill LF
...and so the team walks a tightrope for the night. The hope will be for Matt Shoemaker to eat innings, lots of innings. LeBlanc is on hand specifically if that is not the case. Bedrosian will certainly see action of the lead or deficit is more than three runs. Everyone is tired at this time of year but when you think about the consecutive innings that Howie and Aybar have played you start to wonder about what the word "endurance" really means.
First pitch is at 4:05 PM Pacific.