Los Angeles Angels Probable Pitchers & Starting Lineup vs. Baltimore Orioles, September 4

The Los Angeles Angels return home from a nine-game road trip which ended in an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the 42-win Athletics. The three losses dropped the Angels record to 64-73 on the season, and they'll try to avoid dropping to ten games below .500 when they welcome the AL's best team, the Baltimore Orioles to town. The Angels split a series with Baltimore earlier this season, but the O's are flying high with an 85-51 record as they look to win the AL East for the first time since 2014.

Probable starting pitchers

Kenny Rosenberg gets a surprising start for the Angels as they plan on continuing on with a six-man rotation even with Shohei Ohtani not pitching for the remainder of the season. This will be Rosenberg's first start of this season and the second of his young career. He's pitched fairly well in AAA as his 4.95 ERA in the PCL isn't too bad, and he's struck out 10.8 batters per nine as well. Rosenberg has made two appearances in relief for the Angels this season and has allowed five runs in seven innings of work.

The Orioles will counter with impressive rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. Dubbed one of baseball's best prospects heading into the season, Rodriguez struggled mightily through his first ten starts, posting a 7.35 ERA. This included a start in which the Angels scored eight against him in 3.1 innings of work. The 23-year-old spent a couple of months in the minors after those ten starts and has come back a different pitcher, posting a 2.83 ERA in his eight starts and 47.2 innings pitched since returning. He's coming off a dominant start against the White Sox in which he allowed just one hit in six shutout innings. The Angels will have their hands full.

Los Angeles Angels updated starting lineup following the Shohei Ohtani scratch

1. Nolan Schanuel - 1B
2. Brandon Drury - DH
3. Luis Rengifo - RF
4. Mike Moustakas - 3B
5. Logan O'Hoppe - C
6. Michael Stefanic - 2B
7. Mickey Moniak - CF
8. Randal Grichuk - LF
9. Kyren Paris - SS

Baltimore Orioles starting lineup

1. Austin Hays - LF
2. Anthony Santander - DH
3. Ryan Mountcastle - 1B
4. Gunnar Henderson - 3B
5. Jordan Westburg - 2B
6. Aaron Hicks - RF
7. Cedric Mullins - CF
8. James McCann - C
9. Jorge Mateo - SS

Which LA Angels player needs to bounce back today?

The Angels lineup finally had a better showing in their series finale against the Athletics, but Shohei Ohtani continued his mini slump. The superstar had just one hit in eight at-bats in Oakland and hasn't hit a home run in his last ten games. I know he rarely sees any sort of pitches to hit and get that he's drawing walks, but with how shorthanded they are, the Angels need Ohtani to capitalize on any strikes he sees in the batter's box.

Which LA Angels player will be the X-factor in today's game?

Luis Rengifo has been the Angels best hitter of late and arguably their best hitter the last couple of months. He's on an 11-game hitting streak after going 2-for-5 on Sunday while also hitting his 15th home run of the season. It's been wild watching him completely turn his season around after a first half to forget. Rengifo is one of just two Angels in the lineup tonight that has faced Rodriguez before with Ohtani being the other. He had a hit in two at-bats against him in Baltimore earlier this season. Hopefully he can continue to produce runs like he has been.