With the Twins winning three straight, the Angels and Rangers find themselves on the outer edge of the playoff race at three and five games back. Today, we preview these two AL West teams trying to claw their way back into the picture.
GAME 1 MARTINEZ VS NORRIS
MARTINEZ
Nick Martinez returns to the rotation after a couple outings in relief this month. As a starter in August, Martinez gave up 17 runs in 21.1 innings. His weakness is right handed batters, as he has allowed a slugging percentage of .806 since the all-star break, 2nd worst in the MLB. Things get worse when he faces the heart of the order (3-4-5). Martinez has allowed an OPS of 1.295 since the All-Star Break, 4th worst among qualified starters. Not all is dark on the horizon for Martinez. Left-handed batters are only hitting .188 against Martinez since the All-Star Break, 14th best in the MLB. The Angels have plenty of righties at their disposal if they want to stack the lineup.
NORRIS
After a rough July and August in the bullpen, Bud Norris will make his first start of the 2017 season. Norris has averaged a 4.50 ERA through his nine-year career. He has not allowed a walk in his last 51 plate appearances to right-handed hitters. It is hard to imagine Norris going long into this game, so be ready to see a barrage of pitchers for the Angels.
GAME 2 HAMELS VS BRIDWELL
HAMELS
Cole Hamels will toe the rubber for the Rangers in the second game. He has been devastating against lefties since the All-Star break, allowing just a .200 batting average against since the All-Star Break, 17th among qualified starting pitchers. Hamels continues to bear down against them, walking only three of 74 left-handed hitters (4.1 percent) faced since the All-Star Break, 17th among qualified starting pitchers. When Hamels has gone deep into games, he shuts down the opponents, allowing an OPS of .273 (22 PAs) in late innings (innings 7,8,9) since the All-Star Break, 2nd among qualified starting pitchers.
BRIDWELL
Cole Hamels’ counterpart in game two of the series is Parker Bridwell. Hitters should lay off the first pitch from Bridwell, as they are only hitting .216 on first pitch since the All-Star Break, 5th among qualified starting pitchers. Right-handed hitters cannot get too comfortable because Bridwell has only walked four of 143 righties (2.8 percent) since the All-Star Break, 5th among qualified starters. Not everything is going in Bridwell’s favor, however. When runners are in scoring position, Bridwell has allowed an OPS of 1.840 over the last 30 days, worst among qualified starters. When the heart of the order is up, Bridwell has only struck out one batter in 37 tries over the last 30 days. Expect a big game from the middle of the Rangers lineup.
GAME 3 GONZALEZ VS RICHARDS
GONZALEZ
Miguel Gonzalez is making his third start in a Rangers uniform after getting traded from the White Sox at the waiver deadline. Over his first two outings, Gonzalez surrendered 11 runs in 5.1 innings. Gonzalez hopes to bounce back in the series finale. He has a strike rate of 78.3 percent vs right-handed batters over his past two starts, third among qualified starters. This will help him work ahead in the count, which Gonzalez needs to do because he lacks an electric fastball and swing-and-miss stuff. Opposing hitters have a chase rate of just 8.1 percent against Gonzalez when he’s behind in the count over the last 30 days, second worst in the MLB.
RICHARDS
Garrett Richards gets the start for the fourth time this season after sitting out most of the year with arm troubles. In his limited time this year, he has allowed a slugging percentage of just .265 and has not allowed a home run. Richards control is still strong, as he’s only walked two of 51 batters faced this season. His fastball velocity is still one of the best in the league, averaging 96 mph, fourth highest among SP. Richards is still an unknown for this season, but Angels fans will be happy with a strong, healthy start from their ace.
RANGERS HITTERS – Bringing the boom
- Joey Gallo is slugging .931 (54 total bases in 58 ABs) on fastballs since the All-Star Break (Rank: 2nd of 166 full-time hitters in MLB; League Avg: .474).
- Rangers hitters are slugging .566 (227 total bases in 401 ABs) on fastballs away since the All-Star Break (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: .417).
- Rangers hitters have 85 Extra-Base hits out of 194 total hits (43.8%) with two strikes since the All-Star Break (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 32.6%).
RANGERS RELIEVERS – Keep it on the ground
- Opponents are hitting .168 against Rangers relievers (22-for-131) in lefty-lefty matchups this season (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: .231).
- Rangers relievers have allowed 46 stolen bases since the start of 2016 (Rank: Tied for 2nd fewest of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 62.6).
- Rangers relievers have induced opposing right-handed batters to ground into 83 double plays in 578 opportunities (14.4%) since the start of 2016 (Rank: 1st of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 11.2%).
ANGELS HITTERS – Ice cold against lefties
- Angels hitters are slugging just .284 (56 total bases in 197 ABs) versus LHP over the last 30 days (Rank: 30th of 30 in MLB; League Avg: .428).
- Angels hitters have grounded into 89 double plays in 760 opportunities (11.7%) in close and late situations since the start of 2016 (Rank: 27th of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 10.3%).
ANGELS RELIEVERS – Can’t put ‘em away
- Opponents are hitting .282 against Angels relievers (81-for-287) in lefty-lefty matchups since the start of 2016 (Rank: 28th of 30 in MLB; League Avg: .233).
- Angels relievers have a strikeout rate of just 23.3% (10/43) with two strikes over the past 7 days (Rank: 30th of 30 in MLB; League Avg: 41.6%).
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