The Los Angeles Angels face the San Deigo Padres with both teams looking to improve on rough seasons. The Angels have a 45-42 record and are in the middle of the American League East Division. The Padres have a 39-46 record and with only three wins in their last 10 games, they have fallen to fourth place in the National League West Division. For the upcoming game, the Angels will turn to Shohei Ohtani as their starting pitcher, who has only allowed two runs in his last two starts while the Padres turn to Joe Musgrove, who has only allowed three runs in his last two outings, to start the game.
The Angels have had a promising season but recent struggles have set them back and they hope to rebound in the wild card standings. Shohei Ohtani will start the upcoming game and he looks to build off a Cy Young-caliber season as he's allowing only 34 runs in 95.1 innings pitched while tossing 127 strikeouts. Moreover, with a .197 expected opponent Batting Average, a 33.2 Strikeout Percentage, and a 3.38 expected ERA, opponents are making minimal contact and struggling to drive in runs against Ohtani.
Along with Ohtani stepping up on the mound, he is leading one of the best lineups in baseball which is scoring 4.92 runs per game. Shohei Ohtani is slashing .306/.390/.670 with 31 home runs and 217 total bases, making him the MVP frontrunner, while Mike Trout is slashing .260/.365/.493 with 18 home runs and 148 total bases but the entire Angels' lineup has stepped up. Matt Thaiss is slashi ng .263/.370/.378 with 59 total bases while Hunter Renfroe and Taylor Ward have added 23 home runs and 242 total bases to add depth to the lineup.