Series Preview: Royals @ Angels (Sweep v 2?)

Angels 32-28
Royals 21-38

The Angels started off this season playing some AMAZING baseball. Then after sweeping the series and getting “weathered” out on April 15th, things started going south. Here are the Royals again and if movies and TV shows have taught me anything, the only way to reverse the curse/bad mojo/etc., is to go back to where it started. Of course that might mean actually playing in KC but I think playing against KC is close enough. We also have 2 of the same 3 starters from that series facing off against the Royals in this one.

Oh and Billy, while the going-nowhere 2018 Royals are in town, would you mind sealing the deal for Kelvin Herrera and make sure he if he leaves town he does so in red instead of blue? M’kay - thanks. This team needs a guy like him - BAD.

Know your foe:

Royals - who’s hot (last 7 days):

Jon Jay .400 AVG, 1 home run
Whit Merrifield .522 OBP, 2 stolen bases

Weather Forecast

GAME 1

Nick Tropeano (3.80 ERA) v. Danny Duffy (5.71 ERA)
Monday, June 4th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats

Summary:

Tropeano shut out the Royals over 6.2 innings back in April. He’s also been strong as of late with only 3 runs and 1 walk allowed over his last 12.2 innings. He’s a good guy to have on the mound to kick off this series.

Pitch Arsenal:

So apparently, Danny Duffy received advice from a fan on how to pitch. It included such gems as “on your follow thru, your left foot cannot pass your right foot” and “your fastball is too straight”. Good stuff!! That aside, Duffy isn’t having a great year which, of course, it probably what prompted this “advice” letter. He has, however, only allowed 2 runs over his last 2 starts and 13.2 innings and only allowed 1 run against the Angels when he faced them in 2017.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: Assuming the offense doesn’t completely go to sleep, this game should definitely lean Angels.

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GAME 2

Andrew Heaney (3.67 ERA) v. Brad Keller (2.13 ERA)
Tuesday, June 5th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Summary:

Back on April 13th, Heaney gave up 4 runs (3 earned) over 5 innings. The Angels pulled off a win in that one thanks to 3 late inning runs. But that was Heaney’s first start of the year and he was just getting warmed out. Taking out his back luck in his last start, he has a 1.46 ERA over his previous 6 games, so this is a much better version of Heaney than the one that opened this season in KC.

Pitch Arsenal:

Rookie Brad Keller has thrown 25.1 innings and has a 2.13 ERA with a 1.105 WHIP. He’s been pitching out of the bullpen and this will be his second start after going 3 innings against the Twins last week on 51 pitches. He did face the Angels for an inning this year and he gave up singles to Kinsler and Pujols, a walk to Trout, and he struck out Upton and Calhoun.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: The Royals should be digging into their bullpen in this one and I think Heaney will bounce back from his 5 run start last week to give the Angels an edge here.

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GAME 3

Shohei Ohtani (3.60 ERA) v. Ian Kennedy (6.08 ERA)
Wednesday, June 6th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Summary:

Shohei Ohtani was set to pitch in KC back in April when the game was called due to inclimate weather. Now is his chance to show the Royals what he is made of. As a team, the Royals strike out the least in all of baseball so it will be interested to see how they fare against a high strikeout pitcher.

Pitch Arsenal:

So Ian Kennedy hasn’t been all that great this year - unless you are Angels, who back on April 12 only scored 1 run in 6 innings. But over his pst 5 starts, Kennedy has an 11.25 ERA - that’s good right? Well, in 2017, Kennedy was ALSO rough on the Angels, allowing only 1 run over 14 innings in two starts.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: Let’s not bet against Ohtani.

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Overall Verdict: The Angels SHOULD win this series and they have a good chance of a sweep. They really could use a sweep and some decisive victories to get their mojo back after they lost it when the left KC earlier in the year.

Current Standings