Saturday, May 13 vs. Detroit
Probables- Ricky Nolasco vs. Daniel Norris
The Angels will face left-handed pitcher Daniel Norris the third game of this series. Norris has been inconsistent this season, and has a 4.55 ERA on the season. In his last start, he allowed five runs (four earned) over 4.2 innings with four strikeouts and two walks. He has only faced three Angels batters in his career, so he does bring some mystery along with him. Left-handed batters surprisingly have a .320 batting average against him, while right-handed batters are hitting .290. Norris has only given up two long balls on the seasons, so the Angels will have to string some hits together to beat Norris in this matchup.
Ricky Nolasco is set to make his second start of the week on Saturday. He has done slightly better in home outings compared to road starts (4.32 ERA to a 5.06 ERA, respectively). Nolasco has been a disappointment so far this season. While no one expected an ace year from him, he was expected to be a reliable veteran arm. However, he has been the complete opposite.
In his career against Detroit, he has found poor results. He has allowed a .334 batting average to the team, and has allowed two home runs to two players (Justin Upton and Nicholas Castellanos). If the Angels want to contend for a playoff spot, they will need one of the disappointing pitchers to improve over the next month or so.
Prediction- Detroit 5, Angels 4 in extras