The Los Angeles Angels took game one of a three game series against the New York Yankees tonight at Angels Stadium last night. For the 10th time this season, the Angels scored 10+ runs in a game, tying the Houston Astros and Yankees for most in the American League.
Angels’ rookie Walbert Ureña tossed a gem, giving up one run in seven innings while striking out eight.
The entire Angels’ staff has been lights out this month. They threw a collective 2.51 ERA in August, which ranks as the second lowest ERA in a month since April 1982 when they finished with a 2.21 ERA.
Veteran right hander Grayson Rodriguez will take the mound tonight for the Halos. Rodriguez is 4-5 with a 6.03 ERA, however in his last two appearances he gave up one earned run in 12.2 innings.
Rodriguez will go up against Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole. Cole has only thrown 98 innings this season due to recovery from Tommy John Surgery at the beginning of the season. In those 98 innings, Cole went 7-7 with a 3.19 ERA. Cole went at-least six innings in his last four starts, picking up two wins in that stretch.
First Pick: Mike Trout over 1.5 hits/runs/RBIs
Rundown: Mike Trout is 6-for-21 in his career against Gerrit Cole, which is about a .286 batting average. Trout has a home run, two RBIs and three walks against Cole as well. All-in-all, he has a .375 on base percentage against Cole.
In his last six games, Trout eclipsed this mark four times. He is 6-for-23 with three runs and four RBI in that span.
Second Pick: Gerrit Cole over 17.5 outs recorded
Rundown: For Cole to reach this threshold, he needs to go at-least six innings against the Angels. In his last four outings, he went at-least six innings. The Angels put up 10 runs last night against Yankees’ rookie Elmer Rodriguez, however Cole is a much more difficult matchup. Trout has some career success against Cole, however the other Angels’ top hitters, such as Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel, have yet to face Cole. It feels like this game has the ingredients for Cole to pitch awhile against an inconsistent Angels’ offense.