Angels set to face Turner, Tigers

Jacob Turner was the No. 1 prospect for the Detroit Tigers when he made his major league debut against the Los Angeles Angels seven years ago. He'll be wearing the same uniform and facing the same opponent Tuesday night, except his situation has grown much more precarious.

Turner is scheduled to make his season debut for the Tigers while also making his first start in more than a year. He'll try to keep the Tigers (47-66) in position to win the series, something they haven't accomplished at Angel Stadium since 2009.

The Angels (56-58) came into the series three games below .500 for the first time this season, but won the opener 6-2 on Monday night.

Turner, a 27-year-old right-hander, was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Monday, shortly after starter Mike Fiers was traded to the Oakland Athletics. Turner was signed as a free agent in June, shortly after he was released by the Miami Marlins.

"Our hope is that he sticks," Detroit general manager Al Avila told Fox 2 Detroit on Monday.

Avila's predecessor, Dave Dombrowski, selected Turner with the No. 9 overall draft pick in 2009, 14 spots before the Angels took two-time AL most valuable player Mike Trout.

Turner made three starts each in 2011 and 2012 before he was traded to the Marlins midway through the 2012 season.

He made 55 appearances (45 starts) over the next 2 1/2 seasons with Miami and the Chicago Cubs, but only combined for an 9-19 record. He spent most of the 2016 season coming out of the bullpen for the White Sox, and then did more of the same last season for the Washington Nationals.

The Marlins gave him another shot this season, but after giving up eight runs in one inning out of the bullpen in a 20-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, he was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans, and released six weeks later.

Turner started 11 games for Toledo, most recently throwing seven shutout innings on Thursday to lower his ERA to 4.01. He has 41 strikeouts and 20 walks in 58 1/3 innings.

"The Marlins let him go and we picked him up put him in rotation in Toledo," Avila told reporters Monday. "He's going to be evaluated like everybody else."

Turner's only other appearance at Angel Stadium came July 17, 2016, when the White Sox called him up as a spot starter in place of All-Star left-hander Chris Sale. In his first major league appearance since 2014, Turner gave up eight runs and seven hits over four innings of the 8-1 loss.

Overall, he's 0-3 against the Angels in his career with a 13.50 ERA in three starts covering 11 1/3 innings.

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols will undoubtedly be in the lineup. He's 4-for-4 in his career off Turner with three home runs and six RBIs. Trout likely won't play, however. He missed his fifth straight game Monday with a sore right wrist.

Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney (6-7, 3.75 ERA) is scheduled to make his 21st start of the season. He has 10 strikeouts and no walks in the past two games, but doesn't have a victory to show for it, leaving him a win short of his career-high seventh.

"Putting guys on without making them earn it is going to hurt you eventually," he told MLB.com after the game.

Heaney faced the Tigers on May 31 in Detroit and allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings of a 6-2 loss. It was his only appearance versus the Tigers.