Los Angeles Angels (73-86) vs. Oakland Athletics (57-102)
The Los Angeles Angels face off against the Oakland Athletics on the penultimate day of the 2022 MLB season, and the first pitch is set at 9:40 PM ET. It’s the second of a three-game series at Oakland Coliseum and Game 18 of their regular-season set. Monday’s clash has been excluded from the analysis, while the Angels have won 12 of their first 16 encounters with the Athletics in 2022.
The Halos are slight favorites for Tuesday’s battle and will send Michael Lorenzen to the mound. The A’s will counter with Cole Irvin.
The Los Angeles Angels entered Monday’s contest at Oakland Coliseum riding a seven-game winning streak. Last Sunday, the Halos beat Texas 8-3 to sweep a three-game set and finish a six-game homestand with a perfect record. It was their third straight series victory, as the Angels swept the Athletics at Angel Stadium last week after winning two out of three at the Minnesota Twins.
Los Angeles has gone 9-4 in the last couple of weeks while compiling a solid 3.39 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and .204 opposing batting average. The Halos have scored 56 runs in that stretch, hitting a nice .291/.337/.442 with 13 home runs and 26 doubles across 443 at-bats. Taylor Ward turned the corner in September (1.035 OPS; 6 HR; 17 RBI), while Mike Trout has 14 hits, six doubles, and three homers in his last 42 at-bats.
Mike Trout home runs just hit different #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/W9gx4z3fFJ
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) October 2, 2022
Michael Lorenzen will face the Athletics for the second straight week. Last Wednesday, the 30-year-old right-hander emerged victorious in a 4-1 win against Oakland, allowing one unearned run on three hits and three walks across five innings of work while punching out eight. Lorenzen is now 8-6 with a 4.52 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 78/41 K/BB ratio in 17 starts (91.2 innings pitched) in 2022. He went 2-0 with a 3.05 ERA and 4.37 FIP in four starts (20.2 IP) in September.