Angels bat Erick Aybar leadoff, Kole Calhoun cleanup Monday
The Angels have flipped players in two prominent lineup spots for Monday's matchup with the Blue Jays, as shortstop Erick Aybar will lead off while right fielder Kole Calhoun bats cleanup.
Aybar will lead off for the ninth time this season. He's spent most of the year batting fifth or lower, but he was the team's cleanup hitter on Saturday for the first time this season and reprised the role Sunday.
"What Erick doesn't bring in patience, working counts, he brings in just athleticism and still gets on base at a rate which hopefully will set the table for Mike (Trout) and Albert (Pujols) moving forward," manager Mike Scioscia said, per MLB.com. "And also, we have Johnny Giavotella pushed back to ninth, to try to connect him with Mike. Hopefully there will be some table-setting there that's happening, and we'll get to the big guys in our lineup. "
Calhoun has made 28 starts in the leadoff spot, but he did bat cleanup five times in a row starting on April 30, with Aybar serving as the leadoff man in all five games. The team went 1-4 during that stretch, losing four straight games before going back to Calhoun at the leadoff spot.
"As much as we really like Kole in the leadoff spot, and in front of Mike, I think what we're presented with right now just makes the most sense to go with it this way," Scioscia said. "Guys have had a lot of time to get into their game and aren't there yet, so we need to start to take a little pressure off our pitching staff."
The Angels are road favorites (-123) in Toronto on Monday, per VegasInsider.com.
