The Los Angeles Angels squeezed a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays into two days as Hurricane Hilary threatened Southern California. Now, they’ll have to do the same to resume their homestand as they welcome the upstart Cincinnati Reds to town in the midst of their exciting season.
The Angels and Reds were supposed to begin their series on Monday, but the game was postponed due to after-effects from the hurricane. Instead, the series opener will be Tuesday night and a doubleheader will be played on Wednesday.
The Reds (64-61) have already surpassed their win total from 2022 and are on pace to tie their best 162-game regular season record since 2013. They’re doing so behind a core of young and exciting players led by Elly De La Cruz, Spencer Steer, Matt McLain as well as the veteran Joey Votto.
They also have exciting young pitchers like Graham Ashcraft — who the Angels will see in this series — and Hunter Greene. And all of this lends itself to a battle for the final wild card spot in the National League.
The Reds are currently one game back of the final spot, currently belonging to the San Francisco Giants, with only one team — the Arizona Diamondbacks — in between. A series win against the Angels could propel them into the postseason.
But the Angels, who still have a major fight of their own on their hands, will need to lean on their home success to not let that happen. The Angels have a 32-30 home record, but that has been marred by their recent stretch of bad play amid major injuries.
Logan O’Hoppe is now back in the lineup, and the Angels could be seeing the highly-anticipated return of Mike Trout to the lineup as well. Outfielder Jordyn Adams was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake, clearing the way for a Trout return.
While the superstar center fielder has admitted he’ll be playing through pain, he has said he’ll return when he feels the pain is manageable day to day.
The Angels currently sit nine games out of the final wild card spot in the American League, meaning they need to start not just winning series, but sweeping them. Making up nine games of ground with only 37 games on the schedule is an extremely difficult feat, though not impossible.
Angels (61-64) vs. Reds (64-61) Preview & TV Info
Game 1
Tuesday, Aug. 22, 6:38 p.m. PST
TV: Bally Sports West
Lucas Giolito vs. Graham Ashcraft
Game 2
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1:07 p.m. PST
TV: Bally Sports West
Shohei Ohtani vs. Andrew Abbott
Game 3
Wednesday, Aug. 23, 6:38 p.m. PT
TV: Bally Sports West
Reid Detmers vs. TBD