FanPost

A battle for the West: LA Angels

Since no one else is keeping up with this, I’ll try to.

This is a battle for the West no doubt. If the Astros aren’t running away with the division by the end of September, these games with the Angels will decide the wether we play in the Wild-Card or we begin the playoffs in the ALDS. Let’s talk about the pitching matchups first as this 3 game set begins with Cole and Tyler Skaggs, then Shohei Ohtani and Charlie Freaking Morton (Don’t know if I can curse), topped off with JV and a former Astros prospect Nick Tropeano

The Astros are back home and are looking to beat the Angels in a 3-game set where they will play the prospect being compared to The Great Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, The Babe. That’s right, Shohei Ohtani will pitch on Tuesday against World Series hero Charlie Morton. Ohtani is coming off a start where the Red Sox earned 3 runs of off 4 hits and 2 walks in only 2 innings of work. Morton is leading the AL in ERA with a microscopic 0.76 era in his last 4 starts. Before that though Gerrit Cole will get his 5th start of the season looking to keep his streak of dominant starts alive in which he has only allowed 4 runs in his first 4. Cole will be matched up with the Angel’s Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs is looking to bounce back from his last start where he allowed 6 runs against the Red Sox in 4.1 innings of work. Then after the Morton-Ohtani game the Angels will have the pleasure of having the sign making master on the mound. Verlander will start against former Astro, Nick Tropeano. Tropeano gave up 5 runs in 5.1 innings of work against the Red Sox. Justin Verlander on the other hand gave up zero runs against the White Sox and just two hits. One note, my father hates the White Sox as he went to Game 3 of the 2005 World Series, in which we got swept but I don’t think that is important right now.

On the other side of the ball, the bats are warming up and getting hot, as we out scored Chicago 26-2 in the last series. This included 1 grand slam by Josh Reddick, a 2 HR night by Josh Reddick, 26 runs scored total, and mad dash around the bags (George Springer). The Angels were on their way to 1st place over the Astros, with the champs being 3.5 games back entering the 2nd game in Seattle, then they drop 3 against Boston and won 1 of the 3 they played against an aging Giants squad. Now the Astros are on their rightful place atop of the AL West with a 1.5 game lead over the Angels

As the series begins, we enter having the league’s best ERA, one of the most well rested bullpens and a hot lineup. While the Angels possess the ever-dangerous Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, we have future MVP (face it Altuve and Trout can’t win it every year) Carlos Correa and AL MVP Jose Altuve at our 3-4 spots. So, to sum it up while the Angels have the lineup to match the Astros, their 6-man rotation doesn’t stand a chance against this historic staff that the Astros possess.

Probable’s:

  • 4/23/18: Cole (0.96 ERA, 2-0) vs Skaggs (3.98 ERA, 2-1) 7:10pm Start Time
  • 4/24/18: Morton (0.76 ERA, 3-0) vs Ohtani (3.60 ERA, 2-1) 7:10pm Start Time
  • 4/25/18: Verlander (1.10 ERA, 3-0) vs Tropeano (3.75 ERA, 1-1) 1:10pm Start Time

All games times listed above are on Central Time

My personal note: I started around 3 and ended around 5 so if it seems rushed my sincere apologies and again I’ll try to write this segment every time we play another team.

Links to the Schedule
Halos Heaven: Angels SBNation Blog