"Angels manager Mike Scioscia's defense of Hideki Matsui has been far more consistent this season than Matsui's production.

With Matsui in the depths of yet another slump (1 for his past 14), Scioscia benched Matsui for the third time in the past seven games, the first time against a right-handed starter. But Scioscia continued to express confidence that Matsui's next good streak is just around the corner.

"Right now, not a lot of hits are falling in for him. That's obvious," Scioscia said. "You also have to know there's enough baseball left that this can turn around and he can be productive.

"There's a definite chance for him to get his stroke and help us. He's not that far off. But I think sometimes we're projecting numbers and what a guy can do when the only way to find out is to get through it."

Across the board, Matsui's numbers project to be full-season lows for the 36-year-old. But even those totals (.244, 15 home runs, 44 RBI) have been buoyed by two hot streaks, one early in the season and the other in June when he hit .318 with 19 RBI in 25 games).

In 27 games since the end of June, Matsui is batting .204 (19 for 93) with just nine RBI. In fact, in every month besides his hot June, Matsui has batted .220 with 36 RBI in 77 games."