Series Preview: Mariners @ Angels (Hanamaki Higashi High Battle)

Mariners (26-40) @ Angels (30-33 )

The Angels seems to be allergic to .500 so just when they get close... they fall away. In other words - don’t expect a sweep this weekend since that would put the Angels at exactly the .500 mark. Plus, they get to face 3 lefties - it’s almost like Jerry Dipoto is trolling us.

Some good news perhaps is that while the Mariners have 3 lefties this weekend, the Angels have figured out Yusei Kikuchi both times they faced him, they smashed on Marco Gonzales last week, and Wade LeBlanc has had a rough season. So maybe there IS a chance for a sweep?

Know your foe:

Mariners - who’s hot (last 7 days):

Tom Murphy 2 HR, 4 RBI, .400 AVG
Edwin Encarnación 4 HR, 8 RBI, .393 OBP

Weather Forecast

GAME 1

(L) Andrew Heaney (4.09 ERA) v. (L) Marco Gonzales (4.89 ERA)
Friday, June 7th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats

Angels Summary:

Andrew Heaney will be making his 3rd start of the year and will hope to build on his last two starts. If you can combine his first start (2 runs allowed) with his second start (10 Ks over 6 innings), then we’ll have a great game. Heaney has already struck out 18 in his first 11 innings this year, including 10 Mariners last week.

Pitch Data:

Mariners Summary:

The Angels destroyed Marco Gonazales last Sunday and aside from that, MLB.com summed up his season well “Gonzales went 5-0 with a 2.80 ERA in his first seven starts, but he’s gone 0-6 with a 7.79 ERA in his last seven.“

Pitch Data:

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GAME 2

TBD v. (L) Yusei Kikuchi (4.43 ERA)
Saturday, June 8th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Angels Summary:

The Angels haven’t announced a pitcher yet for game 2, but it’s highly likely to be Nick Tropeano who last pitched for Salt Lake on June 2nd and struck out 9 over 6 innings with 2 runs allowed. He’s had one start for the Angels this year where he gave up 3 runs over 5 innings.

Mariners Summary:

27 year old Yusei Kikuchi will be facing 24 year old Shohei Ohtani in what is sure to be one of the matchups to watch all weekend across MLB. Ohtani this year has better splits against lefties than righties (aside from slugging). Kikuchi has had been pretty good this year until his last two starts when he allowed 10 runs and 20 hits over 6.2 innings. That’s a major shelling.

Pitch Data:

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GAME 3

(R) Trevor Cahill (7.18 ERA) v. (L) Wade LeBlanc (5.70 ERA)
Sunday, June 9th @ 1:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Angels Summary:

Trevor Cahill has one of the worst ERA’s in the league. Yet here we are again. Last tie he faced the Mariners they scored 4 runs off him in 4 innings. In 7 of Cahill’s last 9 starts, he’s failed to get through the 5th inning.

Pitch Data:

Mariners Summary:

The Angels had a rough time with Wade LeBlanc in 2018 but have yet to face him this year. He’s had a few rough starts but is coming off an 8 innings 1 run game against the Astros.

Pitch Data:

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Overall Verdict: Surprisingly, LeBlanc may be what stands behind the Angels and a sweep. Assuming they can keep up their hammering of Kikuchi and Gonzales.

Current Standings (sorted by playoff odds)

Notes/Credits:
(Pitch tracking data from baseballsavant.mlb.com)
(Splits from FanGraphs Splits Tool and Baseball Reference)
(Standings/odds from fivethirtyeight.com)