The Los Angeles Angels will play the second game of their three-game series on Saturday night. Los Angeles won two out of three against Detroit earlier this week, while Houston took two out of three against Texas. This story was published prior to Friday night’s series opener.
Los Angeles has gone on several lengthy losing streaks this season, so the Angels are looking ahead to next year. They lost nine out of 10 games in a stretch in the middle of August, getting swept by Seattle and Tampa Bay during that stretch. Los Angeles has been playing decent baseball since then, winning eight of its last 12 games. The Angels lost two out of three against Houston last weekend before bouncing back with a series win over Detroit earlier this week. They are 16.5 games back of Toronto in the American League Wild Card standings, so they will be officially eliminated from the postseason in the near future.
He's done it again! ??
Shohei Ohtani is your fan-voted Player of the Homestand. https://t.co/pplIHLZrxb pic.twitter.com/zo49svxpqg
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 9, 2022
The Angels have struggled to do much offensively this season, ranked No. 27 in the majors in batting average (.228). Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani leads the way with 131 hits, including 33 home runs. Center fielder Mike Trout has added 32 home runs. They will be facing a Houston pitching staff that ranks second with an ERA of 2.94. Ohtani, who ranks second behind New York’s Aaron Judge in the MVP odds, is going to start for Los Angeles on Saturday. He allowed one run on six hits and no walks across eight strong innings against the Astros last Saturday, marking his second start of eight innings this year. Ohtani has allowed one run over his last 15 innings and has a 2.58 ERA this season.