This is it, folks. The Angels might not technically be eliminated if everything goes pear-shaped in Houston the next three days, but effectively they will be. For all the good the Halos did in Minnesota over the weekend, they still made up only one game on the Astros and now have just 13 games to make up three more. Taking two of three from Houston would be a great start, but even that might not be enough to keep hope alive in Anaheim. A simple series win would leave the Angels with two more games to hem in over their final 10 contests, the final four of which come against division-leading Rangers. The Astros, meanwhile, finish their season with three against the Arizona freakin’ Diamondbacks. A sweep is pretty much necessary at this point.
For the Angels to keep real hope alive into another series, then, they need to not only best the AL Cy Young favorite and a Rookie of the Year candidate for the second time in two weeks, they also need season-saving performances from perhaps the worst road starter in Major League Baseball, a guy with a 5.62 ERA in the second half, and a fringe-y rookie making a spot start.
May the baseball gods have mercy on our weary souls.
Game 1: Jered Weaver vs. Dallas Keuchel
The first of two SP rematches in the series. Jered Weaver got the best of Dallas Keuchel at Angel Stadium two Sundays ago, but doing so in Houston is going to be a hell of a lot tougher. “Weaver is awful away from Anaheim” has been a constant refrain this season—a 6.21 ERA on the road will do that—but that hasn’t stopped the Angels from bringing him out for slaughter every time. Really the only thing working in Weaver’s favor is that the Astros have struggled to adjust to his slow and slower repertoire, plating just two runs in 15 innings against the crafty right-hander.
Keuchel turned in easily the worst start of his career in his last time out, surrendering nine runs on 11 hits in 4⅔ innings in Arlington. The Angels can hope this is the beginning of a prolonged, Chris Sale-like mini-implosion, but the odds there probably aren’t very good. Before last Wednesday, Keuchel hadn’t allowed more than five runs in a outing since September 2013, a span of 59 starts.
Game 2: Hector Santiago vs. Lance McCullers
Just when you think Hector Santiago has bottomed out and is turning things around, he goes and conjures up a five-runs-in-two-thirds-of-an-inning masterpiece of awful. That the Angels came back and won that game is a testament to Mike Trout‘s abilities and the Twins’ misguided faith in a cutter-less Tommy Milone. The the Angels continue to trust Santiago in must-win games down the stretch despite his consistent failures is an indictment of the club’s lack of MLB-ready pitching depth. Right now, Santiago is only as good as the opposing hitters let him be. If the Astros bring their patience Tuesday, it could be a long night.
The Angels saw the ball well against McCullers last week, limiting him to just one strikeout in five innings of work. It was the only time in his brief big-league career that he’d thrown more than an inning without tallying at least two K’s, but the fifth time this season he’d walked as many or more than he’d fanned. If the Halos can attack him the same way the second time around, let’s hope they can bunch their hits a little better and scrounge out more than two runs.
Game 3: Nick Tropeano vs. Mike Fiers
I’m sure the Angels would much, much rather have Andrew Heaney going here, but asking a rookie to throw on short rest this late in the season is just asking for trouble. Nick Tropeano didn’t really out-pitch Felix Hernandez in his last start, but he did pitch well enough to get the win. At this point, that’s all the Angels can hope for—i.e. that he’ll keep things close enough through five innings that the club has a fighting chance in the late innings.
Mike Fiers has been torched by the long ball lately, surrendering six home runs in his last 18 innings of work. The Angels are responsible for three of those, and you have to think they’re champing at the bit to tack on a few more. The weird thing about those dingers, though, is that they’re all solo shots, which has kept the collateral damage to a minimum. If the Halos want to keep their hopes alive, they’re going to have to put some people on base in front of the dinger parade.
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