MLB Game Preview - Oakland at LA Angels

Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:07 PM EDT

Oakland Athletics right-hander Homer Bailey will aim to continue his upward trend of impressive performances when he faces the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif.

Bailey is coming off his best start of the season. He shut out his former team, Kansas City, on three hits in seven innings last Wednesday. He struck out a season-high 11 and walked just one.

The Royals traded Bailey to Oakland on July 14, and his former manager noticed Bailey's improvement.

"Homer's much more consistent with his split now," said Royals manager Ned Yost, who announced he will retire following the season. "He doesn't miss much to lefties. Curveball was good. He spotted his fastball extremely well. I didn't see him miss a location all day long."

Although the Royals are one of the American League's worst team, Bailey has been good against other opponents lately, too. He's 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his past seven starts. In 30 starts (18 with Kansas City, 12 with Oakland) overall, he's 13-8 with a 4.55 ERA.

Bailey, who is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts vs. the Angels, faced them on April 28, when he surrendered four runs in six innings. Angels center fielder Mike Trout had two hits off Bailey in that game, but Trout is out for the season with a foot injury.

Albert Pujols remains available and he has a home run, two doubles and eight RBIs in 21 career-at-bats against Bailey.

Dillon Peters, 3-3 with a 4.81 ERA in 15 games (10 starts), will start for the Angels. He's coming off a serviceable performance against the New York Yankees last Wednesday, when he gave up two runs and five hits in four innings. Tuesday's start will be Peters' first career appearance against Oakland.

Oakland began the week holding the American League's top wild-card spot, two games ahead of both Cleveland and Tampa Bay.

Though the Angels have been eliminated from post-season play, infielder David Fletcher has been a bright spot. The 5-foot-9 Fletcher's hustle and hard work remind some people of former Angels infielder David Eckstein.

Fletcher will take a .321 (25 for 78) September batting average into the game. Overall, he's hitting .291 with a .349 on-base percentage, 30 doubles and 48 RBIs.

Fletcher primarily has played third base this season (90 games) but also has spent time at second base, shortstop, left field and right field.

"I think going into the season we kind of viewed David Fletcher as a utility guy," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "He's clearly proven he can play on an everyday basis, and he can play probably half the positions on the field and play them well."

Fletcher has played in a team-high 148 games this season. In 15 games against Oakland this year, he's hitting .278 (15 for 54) with a .339 on-base percentage, two doubles, four RBIs and eight runs scored.

--Field Level Media