Angels put Shohei Ohtani on mound, not trade block

The Los Angeles Angels, armed with a new, aggressive outlook off the field, will look to stay hot on the field on Thursday afternoon in Detroit.

The Angels and Tigers will play a straight doubleheader to complete a three-game series. Their scheduled game on Wednesday was postponed due to inclement weather, but clear skies and temperatures in the upper 80s are expected for the doubleheader.

Los Angeles has won six of its last seven games, including the series opener on Tuesday. It wasn't easy, as Detroit scored four unearned runs in the ninth to send the contest into extra innings before Los Angeles prevailed 7-6 in the 10th.

The recent success reportedly convinced the Angels to stop fielding offers for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani ahead of next week's trade deadline. Instead, Los Angeles decided to become a buyer in hopes of a playoff push, and it began the effort by acquiring right-handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night in exchange for two minor-leaguers.

The Wednesday rainout, perhaps in conjunction with the front office's new approach, prompted the Angels to alter their rotation. Ohtani, who had been slated to start on the mound in the series opener at Toronto on Friday, instead will pitch in the first game of the Thursday doubleheader.

"Sitting down with him, he knows his body better than anybody," Los Angeles manager Phil Nevin said. "Takes better care of himself better than anybody. Just walking through it, we felt like he would be the freshest to pitch (Thursday's) game vs. Friday's game."

Ohtani (8-5, 3.71 ERA) has dealt with a cracked fingernail this month, which has made him more vulnerable. He is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in three July starts. In his last outing, he surrendered four homers and five runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates but still collected the win on Friday.

Patrick Sandoval (5-7, 4.16) will start Game 2 for Los Angeles. The left-hander is coming off a strong performance on July 18, when he held the New York Yankees to one run and two hits in 7 1/3 innings.

"This was my best outing," Sandoval said. "I struggled early with the strike zone, but I did a good job slowing things down and attacking the zone."

Michael Lorenzen and Matt Manning will be Detroit's starters, in that order.

Lorenzen (5-6, 3.49) was a surprise choice for the All-Star Game but has validated that status this month. The right-hander hasn't given up a run in July.

In his latest start, Lorenzen limited the Kansas City Royals to three hits in seven innings on July 20.

Overall, he hasn't allowed a run in 21 2/3 innings, which is making him a candidate to be traded by the end of the month. The 31-year-old veteran will be a free agent at the end of the season.

"I have to get outs," Lorenzen said. "My job is to put our team in the best position to win. That's hard enough. If I have all that clutter in my mind (regarding the trade deadline), I'm not going to be successful. You have to be mentally tough enough to block that out."

Manning (3-1, 3.19 ERA) had his latest outing interrupted by a rain delay. The 25-year-old righty pitched two scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres on Saturday, but manager A.J. Hinch opted to remove him after the delay lasted more than an hour.

Manning has only allowed two runs (one earned) in his past three starts spanning 14 1/3 innings.