Series preview: Angels back after COVID postpones games

The Angels had a much longer break than expected, as they’ve missed the last two games due to COVID-19 issues with the Minnesota Twins. Luckily it looks as if the Angels won’t have any issues on their end, as they welcome the Texas Rangers to town.

Monday: Dylan Bundy (0-1, 3.32 ERA) vs. Kohei Arihara (1-1, 3.07 ERA)

Dylan Bundy will be making his fourth start of the season for the Angels. So far, he’s been very good in every outing. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs yet, and the most hits he’s allowed has been six. In his last start, Bundy went seven innings for the first time this year. He also didn’t allow a home run, his first start in which he didn’t. It’s been the home run that had killed him during his first two starts, as he allowed a total of three.

The Angels will be facing 28-year-old rookie Kohei Arihara for the first time. He’s had a very impressive start to his MLB career so far. In his last outing versus the Rays, he threw 5 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless ball while allowing only three hits. He also struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. The strikeout numbers took a huge leap, as in his previous two starts he only had two combined punchouts.

Tuesday: Shohei Ohtani (0-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. Jordan Lyes (1-0, 4.70 ERA)

Shohei Ohtani is finally going to be on the mound again for the Angels. He hasn’t pitched since April 4 against the White Sox, as the team has been cautious with him throwing because of his blister. He went 4 ²⁄₃ innings and only issued one earned run while striking out seven. His bat has been great so far this season, now the Angels are hoping they can get his arm finally healthy as well.

After a very solid first start of the season, Jordan Lyes has had two decent outings since then. For his first game of the year, he struck out eight and issued no walks in his 5 ²⁄₃ inning outing against the Royals. In his two starts since he’s posted a 5.59 ERA and has allowed three home runs in 9 ²⁄₃ innings of action.

Wednesday: Jose Quintana (0-1, 16.20 ERA) vs. Mike Foltynewicz (0-3, 5.63 ERA)

For the series finale we have a matchup of two pitchers who have been very underwhelming to begin the season. Quintana hasn’t pitched since April 10, so hopefully the rest will be good for him. He allowed four runs in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings during his first outing and then followed that up with a seven-run outing in only 1 ²⁄₃ innings after that. Well, you can only go up from here, right?

Mike Foltynewicz will be making his fourth start, and if he continues on his trend, it might be a very good outing for him. In his first start, he allowed four runs in four innings. Then, he followed that up with a seven-inning performance while allowing only one run. He then followed that up with five earned runs in five innings. So, based on that, it looks like he’s due for a great outing, right?