The Los Angeles Angels will journey north to take on the Minnesota Twins in a best of three series beginning on Monday. Both the Twins and Angels are surprisingly in the thick of the AL Wild Card race, both floating around .500 with nearly the entire American League. It’s safe to say both teams have been pleasant surprises to this point. It’s been amazing the Angels have been able to stay afloat without Mike Trout.
This series will be contested from Monday, July 3, 2017 through Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at Target Field in Minnesota.
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Pitching Matchups
Alex Meyer starts against his former organization on Monday to open the series, facing off against talented-but-erratic rookie southpaw Adalberto Mejia.
Mejia is coming off his best start, going 5.2 scoreless innings against the Red Sox. It was his third straight strong performance. He’s allowed just two runs in those three games, tossing 15.1 innings.
He hasn’t provided too much depth in those games, but has turned the ball over to the pen with a chance to win. Before that, however, he allowed eight runs in 3.2 innings to the Mariners. Lately, we’ve seen what Mejia is capable of, but he’s still walking the world with 4.9 walks per nine innings and a 1.519 WHIP. Add in nine homers allowed in 51.1 innings and it’s no wonder his FIP is 5.55 while his ERA is 4.38. His stuff has allowed him to get out of jams, but the wildness has backfired from time-to-time.
As for Meyer, the former top prospect is 3-4 with a 3.74 ERA and 1.410 WHIP. Like Mejia, he’s outpitched his FIP and like Mejia he’s still struggling with command issues, walking six per nine innings. When he is in the zone, he’s been very hard to hit and very hard to square up. He’s striking out 10.1 per nine innings and has allowed only four homers in 55.1 innings.
As the series rolls into the Tuesday, the Angels grab an advantage on the hill.
Los Angeles will throw J.C. Ramirez against the Twins’ Kyle Gibson. Gibson’s 6.11 ERA and 1.783 WHIP tell most of the story. He’s been bad. He walks too many and has been too hittable. The 29-year old has been well below replacement level and gave up five to the Red Sox in his last start in a 6-3 loss. That said, he pitched well against the Angels in SoCal in June, tossing 5.2 frames of two-run ball.
Ramirez, on the other hand, has better season numbers, but didn’t fare as well in his start against the Twins earlier this year. He lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up seven runs. The larger sample size of the rest of the season, however, favors the 28-year old. He’s 7-6 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.293 WHIP. Those are much better numbers than Gibson. Ramirez is also shown much better command.
Wrapping up the series, the advantage flips back to the home team who will send Ervin Santana to the mound against Parker Bridwell.
Santana hasn’t been as consistent as he was earlier in the year, putting out some bad starts here and there, including a seven-run outing against the Royals last time out.
Nevertheless, the right-hander is still the ace of this staff, going 10-5 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.087 WHIP in 111.1 innings. Like most of the staff, walks are a concern and his 4.71 FIP shows he’s been getting lucky with the contact he’s inducing.
Despite the downside, Santana is still a dependable, veteran starter. Bridwell is not. He’s in the rotation out of necessity, but was let go by the pitching hungry Orioles before joining the Angels. He’s done well in his first five appearances—including four starts—with a 2-1 record and 3.95 ERA, but he’s been very hittable and has only 15 strikeouts and seven homers in 27.1 innings.
Who's Hot?
The fact the Angels are still relevant with Mike Trout not yet on a rehab trip is a testament to this team’s ability to equal more than the sum of its parts.
Andrelton Simmons has been more than just a glove man and Kole Calhoun’s bat has been better over the last month, but looking solely at the names in the lineup day-in-and-day-out, the fact this team is around-.500 is mind boggling, yet, here they are.
Cameron Maybin has been crucial to this team, providing speed, average, a .369 OBP and even some pop over the last month, but Simmons is probably the team’s hottest hitter. He’s hit four bombs in the last 27 games and has just 11 strikeouts in that time, butting the ball in play. He’s hit two homers in the last week.
The Angels’ pen has been the true highlight for this team. The names are a surprise. Bud Norris, Yusmerio Petit and David Hernandez were left for dead by other teams, but each have come up big in Anaheim.
As for the Twins, Brandon Kintzler has been an equally great story. His strikeouts are low, but he gets the job done. He’s got 21 saves and a 2.55 ERA.
At the dish, Miguel Sano’s power continues. His average has dropped, but he’s hit seven bombs over his last 27 games. Eddie Rosario and Eduardo Escobar are batting .338 and .325 respectively over the last 30-days.
Who's Not?
While the Angels continue to win, Albert Pujols continues to struggle. He hit his 600th homer earlier this year and that was a great story, but the season has been anything but great for him. Pujols is hitting just .234 with a .278 OBP. Amazingly, he’s still driven in 52 runs. Somehow, while he cannot get on base consistently, he can manage to drive in runs when given the chance. Statistically, the idea of being a clutch-hitter is debatable, but Pujols is certainly a good test case for those trying to validate the importance of the RBI stat.
In addition to Pujols, Danny Espinosa continues to flounder. He’s a good defensive second baseman, but he’s hitting just .165. His .203 average the last month is better, but still not nearly good enough.
In Minnesota, just when it looked like Byron Buxton may be getting on track, its turned the other way again. He’s striking out a ton still and while Sano has more Ks in the last month, he’s also got far more production. Buxton is hitting .198 in that time with just a couple homers.
Max Kepler has struggled some lately, too. He’s hitting .223 in the last month.
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