Series Preview: Angels @ Athletics (Oakland. Again??)

The Angels are 5-2 already against the A’s this season, including a sweep of them at home in April. The A’s currently sit in 4th place - ahead of Texas - in a division in which only the Astros are above .500. The A’s were 3-3 last week but are riding high after back to back walk offs against Detroit on Saturday and Sunday.

Mike Trout has been good against the pitchers in game 1 and 2, but will he play?

On paper, and so far this season, the Angels are the better team than the A’s, but I don’t think we’ll see another sweep.

Question: Is Trout out for long or back this week for regular games?

GAME 1

Ricky Nolasco v. Kendall Graveman
Monday, May 8th @ 7:05PM

Pitching rematch from season opener

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats:

Summary:

Kendall Graveman beat the Angels on opening day by going 6 innings and allowed just 2 runs while striking out 7. He also only gave up 2 runs on April 27th but the Angels got the win that game. He’s only given up 1 or 2 runs in all his games this year, except for last week when the Twins beat him up for 6 runs and knocked him out after just 3.1 innings.

Ricky Nolasco has been on a downward trend his last 3 outings going 6.0, then 5.2, then 4.1 innings. However, he only gave up 3 total runs in those first two outings and 4 against he Mariners his last trip to the mound. On opening day he gave up 2 homeruns and 3 runs to the A’s, giving him his first loss of the season. He’s probably good for 5-6 innings in this game and 2-3 runs or so.

Verdict: Graveman has been pitching well and probably gets a slight edge in this game.

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GAME 2

Alex Meyer v. Jharel Cotton
Tuesday, May 9th @ 7:05PM

Meyer still trying to prove he’s a viable starter

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats:

None

Summary:

The Alex Meyer experiment continues. Meyer has flashed of great stuff but that usually descends into lack of control pretty quickly. Going back to last September, he’s really only had 1 good start in 7 attempts at the big league level. So far in 2017, he’s given up 8 ER in 7.2 innings, but at least no homers. He’s also walked 7 in those 2 games.

Jharel Cotton is one of the young guys that is the future of the A’s pitching staff. He has been off to a rough start though this year with a 4.64 ERA and 1.485 WHIP. The Angels knocked him around for 5 runs back on April 5th and he’s given up 5 or 6 runs in 3 of his 6 starts.

Verdict: Could see the bullpen for both teams by the 5th inning in this game. At least one of these teams may score a bunch of runs. Let’s hope it’s the Angels.

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GAME 3

Jesse Chavez v. Andrew Triggs
Wednesday, May 10th @ 12:35PM

Chavez facing his former team for the first time as an Angel

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats:

Summary:

Jesse Chavez has been pretty darn consistent this year. In his last 4 starts he’s throw at least 6 innings but he’s given up 4 and 3 ER his last two trips to the mound. He hasn’t seen this current Oakland roster much, but the guys he has seen haven’t hit well off him as you can see above.

Andrew Triggs beat the Angels back on April 6th and allowed zero earned runs and only 4 hits though 5.2 innings. He has only allowed 1 homerun in 34.2 IP and has an impressive 2.34 ERA and 1.038 WHIP on the season.

Verdict: Triggs has been tough this year and Chavez has been consistent. Both pitchers could go 6+ innings and this game could go either way.

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Overall Verdict: Angels should come out of this series with a positive record, which will be a much better start than their series against the Cubs to open 2016.