Just when we think we’ve got the Angels figured out, they go out and sweep the first place Seattle Mariners on the road. The sweep wasn’t particularly convincing, seeing as how the first two wins were thanks to late-inning rallies against Steve Cishek. But the wins are welcome after the team played like they were in a haze for a week following the brutal Garrett Richards injury news.
This week the Angels do that weird four-game series thing in two different ballparks against the Dodgers. The Dodgers will host the first two games, then the series will shift to Anaheim on Wednesday and Thursday.
I typically look forward to the Freeway Series every year because it gives me the opportunity to hear Vin Scully call the Angels for a few games. But I am no longer a Time Warner customer so watching a Dodgers broadcast is nigh impossible via legal means. Since I am much too lazy to go to a bar with the Dodgers feed I’ll probably miss out on Scully’s calls this week. At least it’s not his last season or anything.
Game 1: Matt Shoemaker vs. Kenta Maeda
Shoemaker is only here because the Angels don’t have any better options. In his first start back from Triple-A against the Cardinals last week, Shoe didn’t show any signs of improvement, allowing seven hits and four runs in four innings; the start did LOWER his ERA this season to 9.12, which tells you all you need to know about 2016 Matt Shoemaker. The silver lining? No homers allowed. The Dodgers rank 24th in baseball in homers this season, so maybe a cool night in Chavez Ravine will keep the ball in the yard. Probably not.
Maeda was virtually unhittable in his first four MLB starts, surrendering only one run in 25-1/3 innings. He has been roughed up a bit in his last three starts, though, and his outing against the Mets last week was the worst of the season when he threw only five innings and allowed four runs. That still would have been one of Shoemaker’s better starts this season, to put this matchup into perspective Still, the Halo bats have been alive the last few days and if Maeda’s relative struggles continue this game could turn into a slugfest. If the Angels don’t pull this one out, it’s going to be a very sad trip home on I-5…
Game 2: Jered Weaver vs. Clayton Kershaw
…because this is nearly a guaranteed loss. Weaver has been alternating bad starts with fine starts for seemingly all season, so after allowing eight runs against the Cards last week he’s due for a fine outing. Unfortunately I don’t think he has the ability to allow negative runs, which is what it’s going to take to defeat Kershaw.
Surprise! Kershaw is getting better! For his career Kershaw owns a 3.88 strikeout-to-walk rate. That’s good. Except this year he’s sitting at 19.25. That’s not human. Kershaw has walked FOUR batters this season — I think I’ve walked more than four batters this year. Kershaw owns a ridiculous 1.74 ERA that is somehow less ridiculous than his 1.46 FIP. He’s also averaging nearly eight innings per start and striking out batters at a career-high clip. Kershaw is the living embodiment of a flame emoji and the Angels should consider themselves lucky if they avoid a no-hitter.
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