Tuesday, August 30, 2011

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.



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