August 24th Game #132 Preview: Angels @ Astros

Angels (63-68) @ Astros (83-47)

Padding the Astros win column. That’s what the Angels did last night in their 1 run loss. It was a game that probably shouldn’t have been that close but Kole (4 for 4) Calhoun Koleski had other plans and showed Zack Greike who the boss was. But it was not enough. As wise skipper Brad Ausmus was later quoted “Right now, we’re playing good enough to just lose”.

That sums up this team pretty well who were walked off against 3 times by the Rangers and lost a close one again on Friday. Meanwhile, over his past 8 games, Albert Pujols is slashing .394/.444/.545 and he’s hitting .313 in the month of August.

Game 1 studs and duds:

Kole Calhoun: 4 for 4 with a home run and double
Albert Pujols: 2 for 4
Mike Trout: 0 for 4 with 4 LOB
Angels RISP: 1 for 12

GAME 2

(L) Dillon Peters (3.92) v. (L) Wade Miley (3.18 ERA)
Saturday, Aug 24th @ 4:10PM

Summary:

If you tuned in to our last podcast, you heard us talk about how Dillon Peters has been one of the most reliable starters for the Angels. Of course, right after that he gave up 4 runs in 4 innings against the Rangers. Still, Peters has been mostly effective this year. He’ll be making his first career start against the Astros, so that will be a good test of his mettle.

Mile has had a resurgence the last few years, pitching to some of the best numbers of his career at age 32. He’s already faced the Angels twice this year and allowed only 3 runs over 11.1 innings. Over the past 5 years he’s been very effective against Angels hitters, holding Trout to a .133 AVG and Juston Upton to a .167 mark. David Fletcher, Brian Goodwin, and Luis Rengifo are a combined 2 for 16. Miley hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in a game since June 22nd, and has only allowed more than 3 runs twice this entire season.

Current Standings

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