Angels face a learning curve in Seattle
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The Angels have lost four of their last five games but things won’t get easier for them Tuesday in Seattle since they’ll be facing a pitcher in Mariners rookie Anthony Vasquez whom they’ve never seen before.
‘We have video on him. We know what he likes to do,’ Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. ‘There’s a little bit of a learning curve when you get in the batter’s box. But you don’t have time to think about too much. You’ve got to go up there, see a good pitch to hit and square it up.
‘This is definitely a guy you don’t want to do too much with. We’re going to have to really stay centered on this guy.’
Vasquez, a left-hander, is a soft tosser who changes speed. He was 9-10 with a 3.57 earned-run average in the minors, splitting his time between double A and triple A. He beat Cleveland in his big league debut last week, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up five earned runs on nine hits. But familiarity doesn’t always bring comfort or success for a hitter, Scioscia said. The Mariners are starting Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez on Wednesday and even through the right-hander is 4-9 against the Angels lifetime, Scioscia said it’s not a matchup many hitters are looking forward to.
‘You’re going to face a guy tomorrow we’ve seen a lot,’ Scioscia said. ‘He’s pretty good. You’re going to face all types of pitching during the year and you have to adjust. It’s part of all this stuff.’ Besides, Seattle’s hitters will be facing a similar challenge Tuesday against Angels starter Jerome Williams. Only three Mariners have faced the right-hander.
The lineups:
Angels
3B -- Maicer Izturis
CF -- Peter Bourjos
2B -- Howie Kendrick
RF -- Torii Hunter
1B -- Mark Trumbo
DH -- Vernon Wells
LF -- Mike Trout
SS -- Erick Aybar
C -- Bobby Wilson
P -- Jerome Williams
Seattle Mariners
RF -- Ichiro Suzuki
CF -- Franklin Gutierrez
2B -- Dustin Ackley
1B -- Mike Carp
C -- Miguel Olivo
3B -- Kyle Seager
LF -- Casper Wells
DH -- Wily Mo Pena
SS -- Brendan Ryan
P -- Anthony Vasquez
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-- Kevin Baxter reporting from Seattle