The Los Angeles Angels continue their east-coast road trip with interleague play as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies and hope to stop their eight-game losing streak.
After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, the Angels now sit 6.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West and are 2-8 in their last 10 games.
Manager Joe Maddon has tried to rest on positivity during this terrible stretch, and even some MLB executives are beginning to question whether the projections that have the Angels making the playoffs are right at all.
On Friday morning the Phillies announced the firing of manager Joe Girardi after a disappointing start to the season and a 132-141 record during his 2.5 seasons as the club’s skipper. They have named Bench coach Rob Thomson the interim manager for the remainder of the season.
The Phillies head into this series without naming a starter for any game of the three-game series and will likely be piecing innings together as his club has lost 7 of their last 10.
Game 1: 4:05 p.m. PT
The Angels will lean on 22-year-old Chase Silseth in game one against the Phillies and is coming off of 4.1 innings of two runs allowed against the Blue Jays.
Silseth made quite the impression in his MLB debut on May 13, after providing the Angels with six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics, and has since posted a collective 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings in his short big-league career.
Game 2: 4:15 p.m. PT
Michael Lorenzen takes the mound on Saturday coming off of an outing against the Blue Jays in which he went 6.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out only two batters.
Lorenzen has allowed a .211 batting average, but he is facing the same dilemma as many starters around MLB, striking guys out. His 5.81 strikeouts per nine innings are also on pace for the lowest of his career.
Kyle Schwarber is someone to look out for against Lorenzen for his time in with the Cincinnati Reds, Schwarber is batting .350 with two home runs and five RBI against the Angels right-hander.
Game 3: 10:35 a.m. PT
Patrick Sandoval has been a solid piece to Maddon’s starting rotation this year, and up until his prior outing, he had been the Angels’ best starter.
After lasting only three innings against the Blue Jays allowing five earned runs off of five hits, Sandoval will certainly like to get back on track against a struggling Phillies club who just lost one of their most consistent right-handed hitters in Jean Segura.
On the season, Sandoval has a 2.70 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 43.1 innings with his only issue being the walk, and as of Friday, his 2.66 FIP is currently the best on the Angels’ staff.
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