The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had the best record in baseball in 2014, and did so largely without much production from Josh Hamilton, but Hamilton will be back and starting in the American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.
Josh Hamilton to start Game 1, Jered Weaver to pitch on short rest if needed in ALDS vs. Royals
Stephen Dunn
Game 1 of the ALDS will be in Anaheim on Thursday, starting at 9:07 p.m. ET, and will be televised by TBS.
Hamilton will start in left field and bat seventh on Thursday night, manager Mike Scioscia told reporters on Wednesday.
“Our guys are ready to go,” Scioscia said.
Hamilton only played once in the final 23 games of the regular season for the Angels, battling shoulder, rib and chest injuries in the season’s final month. Hamilton also missed 48 games with a torn thumb ligament earlier in the season, and hit just .263/.331/.414 with 10 home runs in 89 games for the Angels in 2014.
The Angels also announced their starting rotation for the series, which involve Game 1 starter Jered Weaver pitching on short rest on Game 4, if needed. Weaver, 18-9 with a 3.54 ERA in 34 starts for the Angels this season. He has made all of two starts on three days rest in his career, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two games in 2011, totaling 12 innings.
Matt Shoemaker will start Game 2 on Friday for the Angels, and C.J. Wilson will start Game 3 in Kansas City on Sunday. Should the series last all five games, Shoemaker would start Game 5 on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in Anaheim, on a full four days rest.
“We like the match-ups and that’s the formula for now,” Scioscia told reporters on Wednesday.
The Royals on Wednesday announced that Jason Vargas, a teammate of Weaver at Long Beach State, will start Game 1 for Kansas City. Vargas was 11-10 with a 3.71 ERA in 30 stars in his first season with the Royals in 2014, with 128 strikeouts and 41 walks in 187 innings.
The Angels and Royals split six games in 2014, with each home team winning two of three games in their own park.
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