For Angels' Kendrick, there's no place like home

For Angels’ Kendrick, there’s no place like home

Staff Writer

April 29, 2011 1:06 PM PT

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The Angels have a number of players with Florida ties, including catchers Jeff Mathis, a two-sport high school star in the Florida panhandle, and Bobby Wilson, who was born and raised in the metropolitan Tampa area.

But no one was more eager to return home than second baseman Howie Kendrick, who hails from Jacksonville. That’s because Kendrick ranks first all-time against Rays opponents with a .440 average, a .491 on-base percentage and .710 slugging percentage. And he’s hitting a team-best .364 against Friday’s starter, All-Star lefty David Price.

Not so successful against the Rays has been Friday’s Angel starter Ervin Santana. Winless on the season, the right-hander is 1-4 with a 7.36 ERA in seven career starts at Tropicana Field. His problems this season have mainly come in the later innings. He has a 2.25 ERA and a .214 batting average against in the first four innings this April but those figures balloon to 10.66 and .383 from the fifth inning on.

-- Kevin Baxter in St. Petersburg, Fla.

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Kevin Baxter

Kevin Baxter writes about soccer and hockey for the Los Angeles Times. He has covered seven World Cups, four Olympic Games, six World Series and a Super Bowl and has contributed to three Pulitzer Prize-winning series at The Times and Miami Herald. An essay he wrote in fifth grade was voted best in the class. He has a cool dog.