This Friday the (65-84) Los Angeles Angels and the (73-76) Minnesota Twins will play the first game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 8:10 PM EST inside Target Field. The last time that these two teams matched up, the Angels ended up stealing two of three games.
The Los Angeles Angels are entering this one after a brutal series with the Texas Rangers. They split the first two games, as the Angels struggled at the plate in game two. They are going to need their bats to heat up if they want to challenge the Twins on the road.
The Minnesota Twins are entering this one after losing their previous series to the Kansas City Royals. The Twins struggled in the first two games, as they couldn't get their bats going. They only scored six combined runs in both of those games. Their bats will have to be better if they want to defend Target Field in this one.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Los Angeles Angels are currently in third place in the AL West, as they still trail the first-place Houston Astros by 33.5 games. They are also 4-6 in their last 10, as their poor play has kept them out of the AL Wild Card race. The Angels still trail the Seattle Mariners by 16.5 games, as they will most likely miss the playoffs this season.
At the plate, the Angels are scoring 3.87 runs per game and they are hitting .229 as a team. This is the 26th most runs scored per game and the 26th highest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently make contact with the ball, which has made it much more difficult to score. Luckily, they have realized that they do have some serious power inside of their lineup. They are hitting 1.21 home runs per game, which is the 11th most in the league. They have multiple superstars on their team that can change a game with one swing of the bat. I would watch for Mik e Trout at the dish in this one, as he leads the team with 36 bombs. I would expect the Angeles to stay conservative once they have reached base safely. They have only stolen 75 bases this season, which is the 17th most in the league. Los Angeles will allow their bats to move runners into scoring position.
According to MLB.com, the Angels will be starting Shohei Ohtani on the mound. He can do it all, as he is currently 13-8 with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The last time that he was on the mound, he pitched for 7.0 innings and he only allowed three hits and zero earned runs to the Mariners. This was also his fourth straight win. Ohtani has also been great on the road, as he is 7-4 with a 2.96 ERA this season. The Angels bullpen will be able to enter the game once he is finished, as they are allowing the 17th most runs per game. As a team, Los Angeles is surrendering 4.28 runs per game, which is the 12th least in the MLB.