A red-hot Los Angeles Angels (28-23) club will host a Miami Marlins (25-26) team experiencing some deep blues. These clubs met last season, with the Angels taking three of the four. That includes a two-game sweep in Anaheim. Miami can get payback in this series, and beginning with a Friday night smackdown would help tremendously. The first pitch for this series is set for Friday at 9:38 p.m. EDT, with Angel Stadium opening its doors for the contest.
Miami is on a road trip right now, with this game being the eighth out of 10 total. Entering this one, they're 2-5 on the trip, which has dropped them below .500. Offense hasn't been the problem lately, although Coors Field certainly inflated those numbers. Still, this is a team that's 28th in runs per game. Looking at their run production, most people would never guess that they have MLB's batting average leader (Luis Arraez) and a player that's tied for second in home runs (Jorge Soler). A walk rate that's narrowly above the White Sox for the worst in the majors and a home run count that's only 22nd. At least they steal bases well.
Pitching has also been an issue for the fish, as the team is 20th in staff ERA. Their relievers aren't terrible, but they aren't great either unless it comes to inducing ground balls. Starting pitching hasn't done much either, and Jesus Luzardo's last start illustrates that. He gave up six runs in 5.0 innings, including two home runs. Luzardo hasn't had fun on the road this season, with a 5.91 ERA in four starts. He has a chance to improve upon that, but this game could get ugly against the Angels lineup.