Series Preview: Pirates Travel To Los Angeles (Of Anaheim) For Series With Angels

The Pirates are heading out west to conclude their roadtrip with a three game set with the Angels.

A recent eight game losing streak took the Angels out of the playoff race, and even with a pair of wins against the Red Sox, they now sit below .500 at 58-61.

The Pirates are on their own eight game losing streak at the moment. They are 4-24 since the All-Star break and have not won a series in the second half of the season.

This should be a very popular series with die hard Pirate fans, Mike Trout fans and insomniacs.

Schedule

Monday, 10:07 p.m. — Mitch Keller (0-1, 10.50) vs. Jose Suarez (2-3, 6.22). TV: AT&T SportsNet-PIT

Tuesday, 10:07 p.m. — Trevor Williams (4-5, 5.06) vs. TBA. TV: AT&T SportsNet-PIT

Wednesday, 8:07 p.m. — Chris Archer (3-8, 5.23) vs. Dillon Peters (2-1, 3.45). TV: AT&T SportsNet-PIT

All games in Eastern Time.

Angels Notes

Hitters

- To paraphrase the great Norm Macdonald, I don’t know if you guys are baseball buffs or not, but this Mike Trout guy is pretty good. And it just so happens that his current OPS (1.107) is not only the best in the American League, but also the best of his career.

- Shohei Ohtani started the season a little sluggish after coming back (as a hitter only at the moment) from Tommy John surgery in May. He has taken off since the calendar turned to June, slashing .306/.362/.563 with 12 home runs over 229 plate appearances.

- Albert Pujols may be at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career, but his history with the Pirates should still make him feared. Since 2002, no player has a better career OPS against the Pirates than the Machine (1.122, min. 120 PAs). While the bulk of that obviously came in his prime with the Cardinals, he hit .400 with two walks and a homer the last time he faced the Pirates in a series, back in 2016.

Pitchers

- Angels starters have combined for a 5.48 ERA- the third worst mark in baseball. Their bullpen has fared much better (4.61 ERA), though they have still hurt more than they have helped (-0.57 WPA).

- Hansel Robles has very quietly put together a nice season, recording a 2.73 ERA, 3.01 FIP and 16 saves this year. His 1.32 WPA is 12th among AL relievers, and his 97.2 MPH average fastball velocity is 19th among right-handed relievers.