Gallardo trying for better results against Pujols

Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols has slowed down considerably, as evidenced by his RBI single last night that cleared Mark Trumbo's head in right field and ricocheted off the fence. He settled for one base despite the distance on his fly ball. Past knee and foot injuries didn't increase his 40 time.

Pujols has been known to reach base with regularity against Orioles right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who starts this afternoon against the Angels at Camden Yards.

Pujols is 15-for-32 lifetime against Gallardo, a .469 average that comes with three doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs.

"I used to face him a lot when he was in St. Louis and I was in Milwaukee in the same division," Gallardo said yesterday while sitting at his locker. "It just seemed to go back and forth in certain situations. It's just one of those things.

"I know the kind of hitter that he is. He's a really good hitter, especially when he was in St. Louis. He has a pretty good idea at the plate. It's just one of those things that you've got to make adjustments pitch by pitch and it seems like he always would hit the ball where nobody was at. That's how this game is.

"I faced him quite a bit, so he's got a pretty good idea of the way that I pitch and I've got a pretty good idea of what his approach is. Obviously, things have changed over the years and I haven't faced him quite as much, but just having to face him all those years, he's a pretty good hitter."

Gallardo has made only one career start against the Angels, allowing five runs and eight hits in four innings on July 25, 2015 with the Rangers. Andrelton Simmons is 4-for-4 with a home run. Yunel Escobar is 1-for-10.

Left-handers are batting .329 against Gallardo in eight starts this season and right-handers are hitting .263. He's allowed 12 runs and 21 hits and walked 12 batters in 20 1/3 innings in his four starts since coming off the disabled list.

"I just haven't been consistent, to be honest," he said. "It's frustrating, obviously. It's not easy spending that much time on the DL. When you come back you've got to find that rhythm as quickly as you can and I think I've been able to have it one game and then the next game it just kind of gets away from me. It's been going back and forth. But I'm doing everything I can just to get in that groove and get in a good rhythm and get everything working together to go out there every fifth day and do the most I can.

"When you're out there on the mound, it's definitely frustrating when you feel great and you're not quite getting the results that you want. But the only positive thing is I've been feeling really good and hopefully it's one of those things that's right around the corner and I'll be on my way."

Angels right-hander Nick Tropeano has never faced the Orioles. Trumbo is 0-for-2 with a strikeout against Tropeano. He'll need to contribute to the scouting report.

Tropeano is 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 11 starts, and he's registered a 1.508 WHIP over 60 1/3 innings. He's failed to complete six innings in nine of his starts.