Now that the Angels have had an entire day to travel, reflect on how they should have pummeled the Rockies instead of just squeaking by and enjoy some pit BBQ in the seediest part of Baltimore possible (apparently that’s where it is the best. Seriously, just ask Dan Szymborski.), the boys in red can start their 10-game road trip against the Orioles tonight.
As a whole, the Angels franchise is 292-349 against the Orioles since 1961. Good for a winning percentage of .456. That, well, that’s not actually good. Let’s see what their record is against the Orioles since 2010.
/checks baseball-reference.com
Damn, still not good. Since 2010 the Angels are 17-20 against the Orioles. Good for a winning percentage of .459. And when the Angels have visited Baltimore, their record is 7-10. At least the Orioles aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire right now as they come into the series at 15-17 and are staring up at every other team in the AL East from the cellar. Take that, Orioles.
Of course, with an even .500 record of 17-17, it’s not like the Angels are doing much better. But, hey, at least they aren’t in last place (Hi, Athletics). But after coming off a hard fought walkoff win against the Rockies, and with the Astros stumbling a bit as of late (4-6 over their last 10 games), now might be a good time for the Angels bats to wake up and make a move in the AL West. Just a thought, guys.
Tales of the tape
Game 1: Jered Weaver vs. Wei-Yin Chen
Weaver went out of his way in last start to tell every single one of his detractors to eat his shorts by hurling a 120-pitch complete game shutout against the Astros. That was so much fun, wasn’t it? Weaver’s velocity shot up to near 90 MPH in his last start, and he was inducing the kind of weak contact that has been his calling card since his fastball went back to listening to hair metal. See what I did there? Because it sits in the mid-80’s? I’ll see myself out.
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves though. Weaver’s last start was a revelation, but it was still just one start. I would like to see a few more outings like his last one before I go and get all giddy about the team’s ace. And with Weaver being 7-4 with a career ERA of 3.46 against the Orioles, this trend could continue.
Wei-Yin Chen on the other hand is doing what a Wei-Yin Chen does best. And that is keep runs off of the board. His 2.52 ERA is more than two full runs better than his FIP (4.77), but Chen doesn’t really care. He has, however, had some trouble with the Angels. In his two starts against the Halos, Chen is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA. Small sample size be damned, this is good news.
Game 2: Matt Shoemaker vs. Bud Norris
Shoemaker has quite a bit of work to do if he wants to earn the fans’ trust after the whipping he received in his last start against the Astros where he surrendered three home runs (six runs total) in the three innings. For the year, Shoemaker has allowed 10 home runs in 31 1/3 innings, or 2.9 home runs per nine innings. I’m sure that the idea of Matt being optioned to the minors to figure whatever the hell it is that is messing him up is only being perpetuated by Angels fans on Twitter, but if he doesn’t get his act together, there are options in AAA that could take his place. *cough* Nick Tropeano *cough*
Bud Norris probably doesn’t have to worry about being optioned down to AAA. He probably does have to worry about being sent to outer Siberia though with the way that he has been pitching. Currently his 1-4 record is overshadowed by his ridiculous ERA of 9.88. My prediction for this game: slugfest.
Game 3: Garrett Richards vs. Ubaldo Jimenez
Thank the lord for Garrett Richards. He took a no hitter into the seventh inning of his last start against the Astros while striking out 10 hitters. He is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts with 20 strike outs in that span. Maybe Mike Scioscia should, I don’t know, shuffle the rotation after the All-Star break. It makes sense to have Richards lining up against other teams best pitchers.
But not yet. Nooooooooot yet. Jimenez is back to doing Ubaldo Jimenez things this year. He currently is sporting a nifty 2.41 ERA over his first six starts of the season, and is striking out nearly a batter an inning. He is also holding opponents to a batting average against of .188. Which, considering how this Angels team has performed at the plate this season, probably won’t rise too much during his start on Sunday.
Bonus Round: Manager GIF-Off
GIFfers, on your marks, get set, G(IF)O!
Oh, come one, Buck. We are all just trying to have a little fun here. I mean, just ask Mike. I’m sure he is into the idea.
Damnit, Scioscia. You had one job here, and that was to back me up. Good grief, man. Can’t I count on you to do anything right? It’s not like I asked you to manage the bullpen properly.
Last season, a meeting between these two teams would have been fodder for prime time TV as they were both battling towards the end of the season for the best record in baseball. This season, Well, the Angels are starting to nip at the Astros heals, and the Orioles are kind of trying to stay relevant. I am never comfortable when the Angels face the O’s, and it seems as though the Angels franchise record backs up my uncomfortable feelings. They will be facing two pitchers who are off to very good starts this season, and one pitcher who looks as though he trained with Joe Blanton in the offseason.
Best case scenario: The Angels take two out of three from the Orioles and get out of Baltimore before the Orioles realize that all of the beef from Boog’s has gone missing.
Worst case scenario: The Angels still beat the crap out of Bud Norris, but they head to Toronto after Sunday’s game enjoying nothing more than little packets of airline pretzels.
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