The Los Angeles Angels will attempt to beat the Yankees in the third and final game of their series in Los Angeles. They will do so behind Starting Pitcher Clarke Schmidt. He takes on Yusei Kikuchi of the Angels. The Yankees are hot and have won six series in a row coming into this one.
That is not what the LA Angels are doing. There is some risk that the Yankees look past this game to their looming showdown with the Dodgers. However, with an off day in Los Angeles, before that series starts, the risk is somewhat lower. How do you think the Yankees-Dodgers series will play out?
Pitching Matchup Favors LA Angels
The Yankees will attempt to win this game behind Schmidt. The Yankees’ starting pitchers have been very good over the past two weeks, but Schmidt has been the weak link. He struggles with getting through the batting order a third time. This has been the case for his entire career. Schmidt hopes to reverse the trend against the Angels. They cannot score, so maybe he will. Schmidt is only 1-2 this season with a 4.58 earned run average and 38 strikeouts in 37.1 innings.
Kikuchi is starting for the Angels. He is a right-handed pitcher. He has a lower earned run average than Schmidt at 3.17 That is a good earned run average. That said, Kikuchi has only a 1-4 record. That probably has to do with the now Mike Trout-less Angels not scoring enough runs for him. Kikuchi has 54 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched.
Good Schedule
The crazy, balanced schedule is rarely praised, but this is one time. In the baseball balanced schedule, each team plays every other team twice, at home once, and on the road once. There are several idiosyncrasies with this schedule, and it could be challenged. For instance, the fact that every team plays every other team does take some of the starch out of interleague rivalries. There are some odd things, like the Yankees playing on the West Coast twice in three weeks, in May!
However, the Yankees do get one nice thing. They are currently in Los Angeles playing the Angels. They start a 2024 World Series rematch against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Before they begin that three-game weekend series, they are off on Thursday. That is nice, and it is the result of the Dodgers flying back from the East Coast.
Angels Must Score Runs
The Angels’ offense has been in a bit of a rut recently. They are missing Trout, who is out again with an injured knee. In the three games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Angels scored 2, 0, and 1 run. So, three runs in three games. It is difficult to win any games when a team scores that infrequently. They need to generate some offense somehow, perhaps by calling up some prospects. They are dealing with many injuries, but then again, so is every team.
Conclusion
As the Yankees are playing a series against the Dodgers starting Friday, they must win this game heading into the World Series rematch. Good teams take advantage of winnable games against a mediocre team, like the Los Angeles Angels. The off day the Yankees have on Thursday in Los Angeles should help. The Yankees hope Schmidt pitches well against a struggling Angels lineup.
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