After the Los Angeles Angels took game one on Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani pitched against Miles Mikolas on Wednesday. In this Thursday afternoon tilt, the St. Louis Cardinals will host the Angels for the final time this year. Maybe the daytime start will wake up the Cardinals who can't get anything going right now. Meanwhile, the Angels will love that they can finally go back home after this one. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. EDT in Busch Stadium.
“Way to go, T!” ??#GoHalos pic.twitter.com/4OC3kzcsML
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) May 3, 2023
While none of them homered in the series-opening 5-1 win over the Cardinals, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Hunter Renfroe all woke up on Wednesday with exactly seven long balls. They form the heart of the Angels lineup, and all own an OPS over .830. The result is a team that is putting up over 5.00 runs per game and is sixth in homers.
Their pitching staff has been solid too, ranking 11th in ERA after Tuesday's win. Walks are an issue, but they offset it by keeping the ball in the park. Los Angeles' relievers have been effective at shutting the door, ranking top-six in WAR, FIP, ERA, and saves through their first 30 games. The Angels bullpen has a 0.41 HR/9, the best mark in baseball.
The Los Angeles bullpen will back up Griffin Canning in this afternoon affair. Canning has only started three games so far, allowing seven runs in his 15.1 innings pitched. All of his starts have roughly l ooked the same, as he's given up a couple of runs in around five innings of work each time. He hadn't pitched in the majors since 2021 due to injuries, so his effectiveness is encouraging even if the length isn't.
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