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Series Preview: Oakland Athletics

By Joshua Lea
Apr 10, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar (6) warms up prior to his at-bat during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar (6) warms up prior to his at-bat during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Los Angeles Angels: 2-4, 3rd place in the AL West.

Oakland Athletics’: 4-3, 1st place in the AL West.

Advanced Stats: The Los Angeles Angels are in the midst of a three-way tie in the AL West with a record of 2-4. The Angels have given up 30 runs over their last six games, while scoring only 12. The A’s, however are on the brighter side of things giving up only 20 runs this season while scoring 21. Mike Trout has yet to really get going this season with only four hits out of 20 at-bats. The A’s third baseman Danny Valencia has been impressive this season scoring four runs, two RBI’s with 21 at-bats.

Starting Pitchers: (Game 1) For the Angels Nick Tropeano will get the start after being called up from Triple-A due to a flexor muscle strain that sidelined Andrew Heaney. Tropeano pitched six games for the Halos last season with a finishing record of 3-2, with an ERA of 3.82. For the A’s Sonny Gray will get his second start of the season. His first start was last Wednesday versus the Whitesox in which Gray limited Chicago to one run, three hits, and five strikeouts in seven innings.

Keys to this series: The Angels need to for the pitching staff to step up. Jered Weaver pitched beautifully yesterday to even up the first series with the Texas Rangers at two games each. The Angels are hoping this is the start of the turnaround to an otherwise lackluster beginning of 2016. The Athletics’ are a familiar foe to the Angels and currently have their bats working having scored 21 times this season to the Angels eight.

The underlying element to keep an eye on is the at-bats for the Angels. Trout and company are hoping this series will see the Angels getting good hits at the plate and getting much needed wins to separate them from the Mariners’ and Astro’s who also set with a 2-4 record. This AL West showdown can increase the Angels confidence going forward, providing them with quality wins that will matter when September ends.

The fielders are going to have to be on their “A” game as well in order to help mask the thinned pitching lineup the Angels have scheduled.

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