Angels vs. Astros Series Preview: Firstros

Well, this is annoying. The Astros were supposed to be the punching bag of the AL West but now they had to go and get all uppity and take not just the division but all of baseball by storm. We all knew they wouldn’t be bad forever, but they’ve been the Lastros for so long now that I’d just gotten used to it. Now they are in first, so I guess they are the Firstros and that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

LAST TIME ON ANGELS VS. ASTROS…
The Astros took two of three from the Angels early in the season, back when nobody realized that the Astros were this good and Angels fans had yet to own up to the fact that the Halos might be this bad. Maybe the Astros aren’t quiet this good and the Angels aren’t quite this bad, but I don’t think anyone is going to be underestimating Houston this time around.

THE MATCH-UPS
THURSDAY, 5/7: Hector Santiago vs. Collin McHugh
Santiago started twice against the Astros last year and got shelled in both starts. He’s coming off two straight poor outings. This probably isn’t going to go real great.

FRIDAY, 5/8: Jered Weaver vs. Roberto Hernandez
There’s been a lot of talk about Jered Weaver reinventing himself. There have been suggestions about him changing his pitch mix, changing his approach and even changing his mechanics. But has anyone suggested changing his identity? Robert Hernandez neé Fausto Carmona can even show him how to do it. I mean, let’s not go crazy, he just needs to change his name and some paperwork. Extreme measures can be saved for later if that doesn’t work.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIyvSKCnBnk]

SATURDAY, 5/9: Matt Shoemaker vs. Dallas Keuchel
Alright, another shot for Shoemaker to topple an ace. The weird part, of course, is that Keuchel is actually an ace. Nobody really saw that coming, but here we are. I don’t know how it happened. I don’t think the Astros even now how it happened. It just happened.

SUNDAY, 5/10: Garrett Richards vs. Scott Feldman
Scott Feldman, the man who is single-handedly making sure that the new pace of play initiatives don’t work. I really hope the Angels have won at least two games by this point because I can’t stomach watching them lose and having to watch Feldman slow-play everything for seven innings.

OFFICIAL PREDICTION
The Astros have been nice enough to go on a bit of a losing streak before coming to Anaheim and the Angels are high on their recent walk-offs. This would be a great opportunity for the Angels to hack into Houston’s lead and re-establish themselves as contenders in the AL West. As a result, they will lose three of four.

UNOFFICIAL PREDICTION (so don’t hold me to it)
The Astros lead the AL with 42 homers and will be facing longball challenged pitchers Weaver, Santiago and Shoemaker. I’m predicting that over the four games, the ‘Stros blast 12 dingers and destroy the Angels in the process.