The Top 5 Series for the Los Angeles Angels this season

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The new-look Los Angeles Angels are 70 days away from taking the field for Opening Day. There are some great matchups ahead for this Angels squad.

For the Los Angeles Angels, the Super Bowl not only marks the end of football, it marks the beginning of baseball. This season will be a make-or-break season for the Angels, anything less than a Wild Card spot will be considered a failure.

Still, the Angels have a strong chance to make the push needed to make a postseason appearance. Angels GM Billy Eppler is continuously adding new players to the roster in hopes of improving from the 74 wins the Angels had last season.

The overall challenge for the Angels will be health. While the Angels pitching staff is unquestionably younger this season, health is still of great concern. It will be interesting to see just how the Angels treat the starting rotation when the innings start to get long.

With the 2017 season rapidly approaching, the Angels have a moderately tough schedule right out of the gate. The Angels will start 2017 on the road in Oakland and they’ll also see Kansas City and Houston on the road during the month of April.

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The Angels will share home and road games throughout April, May, and June. July will favor more road games and August will favor more home games for the Angels. September will also be road-heavy as the Angels will play 16 games away from Anaheim.

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Still, within 162 games there’s some series that will be exciting more than others. Most of these will feature teams outside the AL West. Here are five series to watch as the Angels embark on their 2017 campaign.

The Los Angeles Angels vs. The New York Mets

May 19-21 at Citi Field in the New York City borough of Queens.

The New York Mets clinched the National League East Division in 2015; however, came up eight games short in 2016. The Mets, like the Angels, had some injury troubles of their own last year. Their pitching staff took multiple hits last season with injuries to David Wright, Jacob DeGrom, Matt Harvey, and Zack Wheeler.

The Mets are looking to get back to taking the NL East back from the Washington Nationals the same way the Angels want to take the AL West from the Texas Rangers. With their pitching staff and Wright healthy, the Mets-Angels series should be a good one to watch.

The Angels will have to face some tough pitching when it comes to the Mets. DeGrom has a career ERA of 2.74 and a career record of 30-22. Noah Syndergaard is also impressive with a career ERA of 2.60 on a 23-16 record.

Oct 10, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; A general view of the scoreboard in left field before game three of the 2016 ALDS playoff baseball series between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

The Los Angeles Angels vs. The Boston Red Sox

June 23-25 at Fenway Park in Boston Massachusetts.

Last season, when these two teams faced, the Angels put 21 points on the board at Fenway. The Angels would lose the other two games in that three-game series. Boston was able to claim the American League East division last season with a record of 93-69.

For Sox fans, last season was special with the retirement tour of David Ortiz. Boston would go on to lose the AL Division series to the AL Champion Cleveland Indians three games to zero.

However, Boston would make a huge move during the offseason to keep their contention hopes alive. They acquired Chris Sale to add to an already strong pitching staff. With pitchers like David Price, Rick Porcello, and Steven Wright. The Red Sox are going to ensure that the Angels bats never put 21 over the Green Monster.

The Los Angeles Angels vs. The Los Angeles Dodgers

June 26-29 1/2 Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California, 1/2 Angels Stadium in Anaheim California

The Los Angeles Dodgers were just two games from going to the World Series last season. The National League West Champions lost to the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs in a fantastic NL Championship Series 4-2.

LAD will look to pick up where they left off last season. The Dodgers retained pitcher Scott Kazmir who chose to not opt out of his contract. They also got younger trading former Angel Howie Kendrick to the Philadelphia Phillies for Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney.

Los Angeles beefed up their pitching staff signing Rich Hill and Kenley Jansen to multiyear contracts. The Dodgers will be a formidable foe once again this season. Coming so close to a World Series birth last season, look for the Dodgers to tip-toe to the NL Championship Series once again.

The Los Angeles Angels vs. The Cleveland Indians

July 25-27 at Progressive Field in Cleveland Ohio

2016 was without question one of the greatest years in the history of Cleveland Ohio. Not only did the Indians reach the World Series, The Cavs won the franchise’s first-ever NBA Finals. The Indians won the American League Championship Series beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1.

Cleveland will also look to reach the World Series again, adding Edwin Encarnacion is a huge step in doing just that. The former Blue Jay signed with Cleveland this past offseason. In 2016, Encarnacion blasted 42 home runs and 127 RBI’s. Cleveland will also welcome Michael Brantley back to left field after he missed the entire 2016 season.

Cleveland is going to be the odds-on favorite to win the AL next season, while the Angels will continue to fly under the radar. Although, a series win in Cleveland would open some eyes to what the Angels have going for them.

The Los Angeles Angels vs. The Washington Nationals

August 15-16 at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.

The Washington Nationals are one of the league’s most watched teams. Due to the fact they have Bryce Harper. Last season, the Nats won the NL East with a record of 95-67. They would lose the NL Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in the postseason.

One reason to watch this series is Danny Espinosa will return to Nationals Park. Nationals fans will likely be unkind to Espinosa for his strikeout total last season. However, they have bigger problems at this point. They have yet to re-sign Stephen Drew and lost Wilson Ramos to the Tampa Bay Rays.

One high note for the Nats was the offseason signing of Derek Norris. The Nationals were in desperate need of a strong closer coming into this season. 2017 is another year for the Nationals to make their case for another NL East title. Although, the biggest reason to watch this series is to see if the fans boo Espinosa.

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