(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim can earn a series sweep of the Detroit Tigers tonight, and the current American League West leaders will try to do so behind their best pitcher this season when the two teams wrap up a three-game set at Angel Stadium.

After coming up just short in his attempt for a first career complete game last time out, Joe Saunders takes the hill for the Angels in tonight's finale and tries to build upon a fantastic 2008 campaign thus far.

Saunders carried a shutout into the ninth inning of Friday's 3-1 win at Chicago but was touched for a run in the ninth inning and was relieved by closer Francisco Rodriguez with one out in the final frame. The left-hander limited the White Sox to three hits and walked three to improve his season record to 8-1 and lower his earned run average to 2.31, the second-best mark among AL hurlers.

The 26-year-old has worked into the eighth inning in six of his 10 starts and allowed two runs or less on five of those occasions. Hes also 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA in five outings at Angel Stadium this year.

Saunders has faced the Tigers twice previously during his career and did not record a decision either time despite giving up a total of four runs over a combined 12 2/3 innings.

Detroit hasn't garnered much success against the rest of the Angels' staff over the first two games of this series. After being shut out in a 12-inning loss on Monday, the Tigers mustered just three hits and blew a late lead in last night's stinging 3-2 defeat to Anaheim.

The Angels trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but scored twice in the frame to tie things up and won it in the ninth on Gary Matthews Jr.'s two-out RBI single.

Aquilino Lopez (2-1) retired the first two Anaheim batters in the bottom of the ninth, then issued consecutive walks to Sean Rodriguez and Maicer Izturis before Matthews lofted the first pitch he saw into right-center field.

The Angels knotted the score when Rodriguez crossed the plate on Garret Anderson's two-out single off reliever Francisco Cruceta.

Matthews' hit made a winner of Ervin Santana (7-2), who gave up a two-run homer to Miguel Cabrera in the second inning but blanked the Tigers the rest of the way to notch his second complete game of the season. The talented righty fanned seven and did not walk a batter while throwing 80 of 113 pitches for strikes.

Jeremy Bonderman also pitched well for Detroit, as the Tigers starter was charged with just the two eighth-inning runs and allowed six hits while striking out seven over 7 1/3 frames.

Detroit has now lost four of its last five games and fell to 1-7 over its eight most recent encounters with the Angels, who took of three from the Tigers at Comerica Park last month. Detroit has also tasted defeat in six straight games at Angel Stadium.

Rookie Armando Galarraga gets the nod for Detroit tonight and has been one of the few bright spots during the team's rough first two months. The young right-hander leads all Tiger starters with a 3.70 ERA and has compiled a 3-2 record in seven starts.

Galarraga was not at his best during Friday's tilt against Minnesota, in which he permitted five runs and walked five over six innings to suffer the loss in a 9-4 Tigers setback.

The 26-year-old Venezuelan made his fourth career major league start against the Angels at Comerica Park on April 26. Galarraga no-hit Anaheim over the first 5 2/3 innings of that game, but let up three runs -- only one of which was earned -- before completing the sixth and wound up with a no-decision.