Buckle Up: Angels vs. Royals Series Preview

GAME 4- AUGUST 16TH, 5:08 PM

PITCHING MATCHUP:

HECTOR SANTIAGO VS. YORDANO VENTURA

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

OUTLOOK: The first half of the season was much more fortunate for Santiago. Pitching lights out and racking up wins, on his way to an All-Star appearance. Since then, he’s been 1-2 with a 5.13 ERA in 5 starts and struggled to look like the same pitcher. Regardless of the numbers he still has an ERA of 2.87 for the season and more than capable of shutting down opposing offenses. The big key for Santiago in this matchup will be keeping the Royals lefties in check, which he’s done all season, and controlling the base paths. If he can pound the zone with good movement on his fastball it will help to keep the Royals from getting on base and utilizing their speed.

Yordano Ventura has been a wildcard to say the least. Coming into this year he was thought of as a possible Cy Young Award candidate, but that notion has faded fast. Due to inconsistency and immaturity, Ventura found himself pitching in the minors not more than a month ago. The matchup between he and Trout should be enticing due to the previous history of clear dislike for one another. Bottomline will be if the Angels offense can stay patient enough to make Ventura throw a ton of pitches and get into trouble. But if he has his good stuff this could be another one run game.

RECIPE FOR A WIN: Score early on Ventura and force him to work in jams and hopefully he self implodes. If Santiago can deliver a quality start, this game could go either way.