Ervin Santana will face Rangers this weekend; C.J. Wilson won’t
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Tempe, Ariz. — Ervin Santana will take his regular turn in the Angels rotation and start Saturday’s exhibition game against Texas in Surprise, Ariz., but left-hander C.J. Wilson will not pitch against his former club when the American League West division-rival Rangers come to Tempe Diablo Stadium on Sunday.
Manager Mike Scioscia announced Friday morning that Wilson, the former Texas ace who signed a five-year, $77.5-million deal with the Angels in December, will start a triple-A game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, with a target of six innings and 90 pitches.
The Rangers announced earlier this week that Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish would pitch in a triple-A game instead of facing the Angels Sunday.
It’s common late in spring training for teams to “hide” their top pitchers from division rivals, but it’s also common for many starters to make the jump from five innings and 75 pitches to six innings and 90 pitches in the controlled setting of a minor league game, where pitch counts can be better monitored.
“I don’t think keeping them away from a team is part of the equation of what we’re looking at,” Scioscia said. “If our guys are pitching on the minor league side, it’s going to be to make sure they can get to the right spot they should be at this point in the spring. Sometimes you need to do that in a controlled setting.”
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Ervin Santana will face Rangers this weekend; C.J. Wilson won’t
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