Are the Angels getting back to winning? Well, tentatively speaking, they are. After getting swept out of the Little League stadium that resides in the Bronx, the Angels have turned around and won their last two series against the Rays and A’s. The last of which was the most sweet because screw the A’s and their silly, unfashionable white shoes. The 4-2 stretch has the Angels back above the .500 mark at 32-31 and sitting 3.5 games back of the first place Astros heading into a four-game set against the Diamondbacks at both Angels Stadium and Chase Field.
In the history of forever, the Angels hold a 12-9 advantage over the Diamondbacks. It’s a small sample size and all, but, you know, #Winning. The last time these two teams hooked up was for a three game set in 2012 from June 15th to June 17th. That, by the way, is incredibly ironic. There probably isn’t much to it, but I am going to choose to believe that whoever sets up the schedules for each MLB season sat down, did a little research, saw this easter egg, chuckled softly to his or her self, then went back to clipping their toenails and sipping green tea. This is my imagination, get your own.
Game 1: Jered Weaver vs. Robbie Ray
For the first six starts of the season for Weaver, he was not easy to watch. Then he went on a “tear” for four starts, which was great. Then came his last two starts. Less good. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride all season long for the Weave, which means each start of his is going to be a roller coaster for fans as they watch. Fun fact, well, fun fact if you’re a masochist. Jered Weaver’s K/9 (4.39) is lower than his ERA (4.61). Chew on that for a little bit, let it roll around on your tongue. Personally, I thought it tasted terrible.
Robbie Ray is getting his second taste of the big leagues thanks to Archie Bradley getting his face caved in by a line drive, and this time, he is making the most of it. After an uninspiring debut with the Tigers last year, Robbie is 1-1 after three starts this year with a 1.53 ERA. He was never an outstanding prospect, so he could be pitching over his head. But this is a pitcher the Angels have never seen before so…
Game 2: Garrett Richards vs. Jeremy Hellickson
After bottoming out in New York, Garrett went and had himself a game in his last start against the Rays. In fact, it looked very 2014. He walked one, struck out seven in seven innings, gave up two runs. It’s almost as if Richards needed to have a crap start in order to get pissed and take it out on opposing teams. Welcome back to being good, Garrett.
Hellickson on the other hand has been getting his butt kicked this year to the tune of a 5.29 ERA. Weird, it’s almost as if the Diamondbacks could have asked the Angels “Hey. What do you guys think about trading for a Rays pitcher? Good idea? Think we will get burned on this?” On the bright side for Jeremy, he is 3-2 with a 2.73 ERA in his career against the Angels. Good thing we have Garrett Richards going since he has a sweet 0.00 ERA against the Diamondbacks.
Game 3: Hector Santiago vs. Chase Anderson
‘Twas the home run ball that ran Hector from his last start. Luckily, they were only solo shots. Hector still looks very good this year with a 2.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and the best BB/9 of his career at 3.30. Is he the frontline starter that he is pitching like? Probably not. But his funky delivery, and decent stuff just needed some command for him to be successful.
Chase Anderson leads all of baseball in no decisions. After 12 starts, he has a 1-2 record. The culprit? 2.6 runs averaged per start by the Diamondbacks. He finally got a win in his last start, but that’s only because he allowed zero runs in seven innings and the bullpen held the 1-0 lead. It bodes well for the Angels when they go against a good starter but the opposing team’s offense prefers to take the night off on those nights.
Game 4: Tobe Announced vs. Allen Webster
Possible Angels pitcher for Thursday:
It is C.J. Wilson‘s turn in the rotation, so maybe MLB.com just needs to get with the program. Seven scoreless innings from C.J. after binge watching Game of Thrones might be his greatest accomplishment of the year. But, then again, sometimes a SlingPitcher seems like a better option than C.J. Wilson.
Allen Webster will be making his second start of the season for the D-Backs, taking the place of Josh Collmenter who was moved to the bullpen after being pretty bad this season. Of course, Webster was sporting a sweet 9.00 ERA in AAA this season, so, maybe the Diamondbacks don’t know what they are doing.
The Angels are riding another wave of good times, and, historically speaking, there’s nothing like a good interleague series to get the juices flowing for the Angels. Amirite, guys? A five-hour drive separates these two teams and the four games of this weird series, but the Angels will probably opt to fly from LA to Phoenix, and that doesn’t bother me. I don’t really want to worry about Mike Trout driving through the desert and possibly breaking down in some town that no one can find. And then when we do find him, we find him wearing white-walled tires. What? It could happen.
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