Jeff Mathis back behind plate for Angels
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Jeff Mathis was back in the Angels’ lineup Sunday against the Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle. Mathis was expected to be the starting catcher when spring training ended, but after his average fell to .192, he watched rookie Hank Conger play the last three games behind the plate.
Maicer Izturis, who had three hits in each of the last two games, will again lead off while Vernon Wells, coming off his first two-game of the season, is back in left field, batting fifth.
And speaking of guys coming off hot performances, right-hander Dan Haren threw a one-hit shutout against Cleveland in his last outing, running his record to 3-0 and dropping his earned-run average to 0.73. The one-hitter was the first by an Angel since 2006.
The Angels are hot as a team as well, having won four in a row and eight of their last 10 games after a 1-3 start.
The lineups:
Angels
SS -- Maicer Izturis
2B -- Howie Kendrick
DH -- Bobby Abreu
RF -- Torii Hunter
LF -- Vernon Wells
3B -- Alberto Callaspo
1B -- Mark Trumbo
C -- Jeff Mathis
CF -- Peter Bourjos
P -- Dan Haren
Chicago White Sox
LF -- Juan Pierre
2B -- Gordon Beckham
DH -- Adam Dunn
1B -- Paul Konerko
RF -- Carlos Quentin
CF -- Alex Rios
C -- A.J. Pierzynski
SS -- Alexei Ramirez
3B -- Omar Vizquel
P -- Mark Buehrle
-- Kevin Baxter in Chicago