Lance Lynn came to the Minnesota Twins with a solid resume from his years in the National League, but he was the first to admit he didn’t impress during his first full month in the American League.
The veteran right-hander seemed to turn things around in his last start, and will try to continue that momentum when he faces the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium.
Lynn, who will turn 31 on Saturday, signed a one-year, $12 million contract with the Twins in March after spending six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, compiling a 72-47 mark in that span.
Lynn (1-3, 7.28 ERA) was winless in five starts in April, however, causing concern from the fan base to the front office. They exhaled a bit after his last outing as Lynn limited the Chicago White Soxto two runs and eight hits over six innings in an 8-4 victory.
As for Lynn, he’s been around long enough to know his performances will eventually even out.
“I find that you can’t control anything except making a pitch. If you try to control other things, things snowball on you,” Lynn told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after earning his first win. “Early on, I was trying to control everything, and trying to be perfect and trying to show off on a new team. I think that’s a lot of it. … You go out and keep making pitches instead of worrying about the negative.”
Lynn was with the Cardinals when he made his only career appearance against the Angels on July 2, 2013. He allowed five runs and nine hits over six innings of a 5-1 loss in Anaheim, a game more remembered because it was the first time Angels first baseman Albert Pujols played against his former team.
Angels infielder Zack Cozart has plenty of experience against Lynn from his years with the Cincinnati Reds. He’s 7-for-39 with three home runs off Lynn. Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Pujols, the 2-3-4 hitters for Los Angeles, are a combined 0-for-14 off Lynn, however.
Minnesota managed to keep that trio fairly quiet in the 7-4 loss in the series opener Thursday night, but got dinged by the 5-6-7 hitters.
Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, Andrelton Simmons was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Ian Kinsler was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Kinsler is 4-for-8 since being moved out of the leadoff spot.
Tyler Skaggs (3-2, 3.08) is scheduled to start for the Angels. He’ll be up against the only American League opponent he has not faced in his six-year career.
Skaggs has been sharp in six of his seven starts this season, but has been supported by more than three runs only twice.
He pitched well enough to win his last start, allowing two runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings Saturday at Seattle, but the bullpen couldn’t protect the 4-2 lead and the Angels lost 9-8 in extra innings.
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