Cubs, fresh off a landslide victory, open series against Angels

The Chicago Cubs and visiting Los Angeles Angels open a three-game series on Friday, and both wish they could reset their seasons to an earlier date.

The Cubs, who are in last place in the National League Central, would like to look back to May 12, when they were 24-17. Since then, the Cubs have gone 16-31 and are 3-8 in their last 11 games.

“There are going to be times when things don’t feel right,” said Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, who hit two three-run home runs in Chicago’s 10-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. “Part of it is believing that you’ll have one of those winning streaks and get back on track.”

“For me personally, the first six weeks were a struggle and really difficult and challenging. And it was hard to believe that I would get to the point where I could turn things around.”

The Angels wouldn’t mind repeating the entire month of June.

The team’s core of young talent — catcher Logan O’Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel — shook off the first two difficult months to post a 15-11 record in June. Los Angeles snapped a six-game winning streak from June 24-29 to rekindle the good feelings.

However, the Angels have yet to win in July. After losing the finale of a four-game home series to the Detroit Tigers, they were swept in three games in Oakland earlier this week. The A’s beat the Angels 5-0 on Wednesday and Thursday.

Angels manager Ron Washington said the six-game winning streak may have worn out his team.

“They looked tired,” Washington said. “It really takes a lot of effort to win. And they haven’t figured that out yet. What they’ve done in this winning streak, they have to learn every day and they have to learn to do it. And they just looked tired. That’s all.”

“The hitters were tough (against the A’s). The pitchers just couldn’t get the ball into the strike zone consistently. The guys you don’t expect to do things out there on defense that aren’t good for you did. We just have to turn things around and move on to Chicago.”

The Angels will send right-hander Griffin Canning (3-8, 4.71 ERA) to the mound on Friday against Chicago left-hander Justin Steele (0-3, 3.20).

Canning was one of the few Angels who didn’t perform at his best in June, losing his first four decisions of the month. In his last start, a no-decision game against the Tigers on Saturday, he allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits in six innings.

Steele is still looking for his first win of the year despite a solid ERA and WHIP. He has pitched six or more innings in his last five starts, but in that stretch he has four no-decisions and a loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 7.

On Saturday, Steele allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Canning has never played against the Cubs in his five-year career, and Steele has never played against the Angels in his four major league seasons.

–Field level media