Houston Astros Visit Los Angeles Angels

crawfishboxes.com

08 May 2023

The Houston Astros will open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium tonight at 8:38 PM CT.

The Angels will host the Astros tonight in the first three games of their 13-game season series. After starting the season with a nice 14-11 record, the Astros have lost their last three series’ by winning one-of-three in each to land at .500.

The Astros lost two-of-three to the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants, and the Seattle Mariners. In their most recent game, yesterday, the Astros dropped a 3-1 decision in their first “getaway” loss in forever. Yordan Alvarez collected two hits, and Michael Tucker drove in Houston’s only run of the game. Brandon Bielak gave up all three runs (two earned) on 10 hits and a pair of walks over 4 ⁄₃ innings.

After Houston finishes up their set against the Angels, they’ll travel to Chicago for a three-game series, closing their season against the White Sox before returning home to face the Cubs and the Oakland Athletics.

The Angels come into the set at 19-16, second in the American League West. They come in after losing two-of-three at home against the Texas Rangers. In yesterday’s series finale, they lost a 16-8 slugfest despite three-hit games from Gil Urshela and Matt Thaiss and two-hit efforts from Anthony Rendon and Shohei Ohtani. Ranger Suarez took the loss by surrendering seven runs in 2 ⁄₃ innings.

The last time the Astros and Angels played was last season from September 9 through 11, with Houston winning two-of-three. In the final game of the series, Houston took home a victory by a 12-4 final score Mauricio Dubon (5), Alex Bregman (21), Trey Mancini (17), Yordan Alvarez (32) and Kyle Tucker (25) all went deep for the good guys, while Luis Garcia picked up the win with five innings of three-run ball.

All-Time Head-to-Head

Houston is 112-75 in all-time matchups against the Angels, a .599 winning percentage that ranks as their second best against any team.

Standings

Houston Astros: 17-17, .500, tied for third in the AL West, tied for ninth in the AL, tied for 15th in MLB. Last 10: WLLWWLLWLL, on pace for 81-81, BR Playoff Odds: 93.9 percent.

Los Angeles Angels: 19-16, .543, second in the AL West, sixth in the AL, tied for 11th in MLB. Last 10: WLLWWWWWLL, on pace for 88-74, BR Playoff Odds: 22.9 percent.

Team leaders

AVG: Gio Urshela .304, Mike Trout .299, Shohei Ohtani .295, Anthony Rendon .291, Mauricio Dubon .287

OBP: Anthony Rendon .418, Mike Trout .388, Yordan Alvarez .385, Kyle Tucker .376, Shohei Ohtani .366

SLG: Mike Trout .559, Yordan Alvarez .539, Shohei Ohtani .512, Hunter Renfroe .492, Brandon Drury .491

OPS: Mike Trout .947, Yordan Alvarez .924, Shohei Ohtani .878, Kyle Tucker .842, Hunter Renfroe .800

HR: Hunter Renfroe & Mike Trout 8, Brandon Drury, Yordan Alvarez & Shohei Ohtani 7

RBI: Yordan Alvarez 31, Kyle Tucker 24, Hunter Renfroe 23, Shohei Ohtani & Mike Trout 20

BB: Alex Bregman 23, Kyle Tucker 20, Anthony Rendon 18, Taylor Ward 17, Mike Trout 16

SB: Jeremy Peña 6, Kyle Tucker & Shohei Ohtani 5, Chas McCormick 4, Mauricio Dubon 3

ERA: Shohei Ohtani 2.54, Framber Valdez & Hunter Brown 2.60, Cristian Javier 3.54

WHIP: Shohei Ohtani 0.87, Cristian Javier 1.06, Framber Valdez 1.16, Hunter Brown 1.18

K: Shohei Ohtani 59, Framber Valdez 45, Cristian Javier 43, Reid Detmers 38, Hunter Brown 36

Injury report

Chas McCormick should be back either today or tomorrow.

Michael Brantley should be back by tomorrow as well.

Lance McCullers Jr. is nearing a return, and should make his season’s debut around June 1.

Jose Altuve is ahead of schedule, and has been participating in “baseball activities.” He could start in the minors for a rehab assignment as soon as this week.

Luis Garcia requires Tommy John Surgery and will be out until next season.

It’s looking like Jose Urquidy will be back sometime in the neighborhood of the All-Star break.

Dana Brown on @SportsTalk790 on injured RHP José Urquidy: “There’s a chance we could get him back somewhere around the All-Star break.”
That means Urquidy is out at least a couple of months.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 7, 2023

Gametime & Starting Pitchers
Tonight at 8:38 PM: Hunter Brown (3-1, 2.60) vs. Patrick Sandoval (3-1, 2.93)
Tuesday at 8:38 PM: Framber Valdez (2-4, 2.60) vs. TBD
Wednesday at 3:07 PM: Cristian Javier (2-1, 3.54) vs. TBD

Who’s hot (highest WPA vs. Mariners)
Kyle Tucker .399
Yordan Alvarez .373
J.P. France .249
Cristian Javier .133
Ryan Pressly .077

Who’s not (lowest WPA vs. Mariners)
Alex Bregman -.161
Mauricio Dubon -.173
Bryan Abreu -.211
Ryne Stanek -.411
Rafael Montero -.508

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