The Los Angeles Angels have won three in a row after a series win over the Seattle Mariners and now return home looking to continue building on that against the Kansas City Royals.
L.A. remains 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot thanks to their historic losing streak, but there is still more than enough time to regain control of a playoff spot, and it starts with one game at a time. Thankfully for the club, they have a chance to continue building momentum against a Royals club that is tied for the fewest wins in baseball with 23, compared to their 42 losses.
Mike Trout has also re-found his swing after a down stretch, which is good news for an Angels club that relys on their superstars to win.
Game 1: 6:38 p.m. PT
The Angels give the ball to Noah Syndergaard in game one. Syndergaard holds a 3.53 ERA across 51 innings this season, but his velocity and strikeout numbers have yet to rebound to where they once were.
In his previous outing, the right-hander threw 4.2 innings against the L.A. Dodgers, giving up one earned run on two hits while striking out five and walking three.
The Royals counter with Kris Bubic, who has struggled to an 8.38 ERA across 28 innings. Bubic gave up three earned runs in 5.1 innings against the Giants his last time out.
The southpaw owns a 4.93 ERA in his career in 208 innings.
Game 2: 6:38 p.m. PT
Reid Detmers starts the second game of the series looking to rebound from his prior start. The young left-hander has remained inconsistent throughout the season and has not pitched deep into many games.
He allowed four earned runs in just 3.2 innings his last time out, and nearly allowed three more if not for Trout robbing a home run. The Angels need him to take a step forward and find some consistency sooner than later.
The Royals turn to Jonathan Heasley, who has been somewhat effective in a small sample this far. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.72 ERA in 36.1 innings across seven starts.
In his last outing, he allowed two runs over four innings, but prior to the he pitched seven shutout innings. Heasley has pitched to a 4.06 ERA in 51 innings during his career.
Game 3: 6:49 p.m. PT
In the final game, the Angels will have Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Ohtani has played the role of stopper during their losing streak, but this time they will hope he can pitch them to a series win or sweep.
In his last two outings, he has pitched a combined 13 innings, giving up just one run. Overall this season, he holds a 3.28 ERA in 60.1 innings with 77 strikeouts.
The Royals counter with their young left-hander in Daniel Lynch, who has not yet established himself at the Major League level.
Lynch has been one of baseball’s top pitching prospects for a few seasons, but his 5.19 ERA in 59 innings this season and career 5.46 ERA in 127 innings is a far cry from what the Royals hoped they had in Lynch.
He turned in a better start his last time out, however, striking out 10 hitters across five innings while giving up just one run.
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