New York Yankees to face the Angels in four-game series, here’s the preview

New York Yankees, Michael King

The New York Yankees are back at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx after being swept by the Boston Red Sox for the second time this season. Tonight they start a series with the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees are six games out from the East-leading Boston Red Sox. The Angels are also in fourth place but in the AL West. The Angels are coming off a loss to the Detroit Tigers, being swept by the San Francisco Giants and losing three out of four against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Most industry sources consider Mike Trout as one of the best players in baseball. Luckily for the Yankees and in reverse for the Angels, the Yankees won’t be seeing Trout in this series. He has been on the IL since May 17th with a right calf strain. While Angels fans would like to see Trout back in the lineup, they will have to wait a bit longer. Of the Angel’s 75 games, Trout has only been able to play in 35 of them.  But the Angels are not without talent; Shohei Ohtani is also thought to be at the top of his game. The multi-talented pitcher has a .750 winning percentage with an ERA of 2.58; he also has the second-most home runs as a hitter (25)  in all of baseball.

Tonight, June 28th, 7:05 pm:

This is going to be on hot series, not only do the Yankees have to win games, but they will have to do it in all games at the Stadium under sweltering conditions with very high humidity. At the start of each game, the field temperature will be near or above 100 degrees. There is little chance of any inclement weather throughout the series.

Michael King will take the mound for the Yankees and Dylan Bundy for the Angels. King has been the replacement for Corey Kluber, who has been nursing a cranky shoulder. King is still looking for his first major league win this season. He is 0-3 with an ERA of 4.05 in his eleven starts. He is coming off two games that the Yankees won. King’s primary problems are not pitching deep into games and giving up too many walks. However, his last two games have shown improvement and have been his best games of the season. Only two Angel hitters have seen King pitch.

Dylan Bundy is a righty that is 1-7 with an elevated 6.68 ERA. Bundy, like King, doesn’t go deep into games. He is coming off two losses, one to the Oakland A’s and most recently a loss to the Detroit Tigers. He will come to the mound tonight on 8 games of rest. Bundy gives up an average of one home run per game. He also walks a player and a half per game. All of the New York Yankees have appeared before Bundy before. The 14-year veteran Brett Gardner has faced the 8-year veteran Bundy the most (28) and has a .286 average off of him. Gary Sanchez has been most successful, getting 4 RBIs off him. Aaron Judge also has 4 RBI’s off him. Tonight’s game will be televised on the YES Network, Bally Sports West, and MLBN out of market.

Tuesday, June 29th, 7:05 pm:

Tuesday night Jameson Taillon will face the Angel’s, Andrew Heaney. Taillon has been the Yankee’s least dependable pitcher.  Taillon is 2-4 with an ERA of 5.18. He had pitched inconsistently but is coming off his best game of the season, a win against the Kansas City Royals on June 24th, when he gave up just 1 run pitching into the seventh inning.

Heaney, a lefty, is 4-5 with an ERA of 4.72 with 85 strikeouts in 13 starts. He is coming off two losses, one to the Giants and one to the Athletics. Heaney gives up few home runs and has struck out 10 twice this season. He has also pitched seven shutout innings twice. Tuesday night’s game will be televised on the YES Network, Bally Sports West, and MLBN out of market.

Wednesday, June 30th, 7:05 pm:

Wednesday night’s game will feature a matchup of Domingo German against the standout pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani.  German, one of the Yankee’s best pitchers this season, is coming off three poorly pitched games against the Phillies, Oakland, and most recently against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees eventually won the game against Oakland, but he gave up 7 earned runs in the Phillies loss. In all three games, he didn’t make it past the fifth inning. On the other hand, German could be totally dominant. Fans will have to wait and see which German shows up. Geman is 4-5 with an ERA of 4.32.

Ohtani is a baseball sensation being a more than competent pitcher and hitter. The multi-talented pitcher has a .750 winning percentage with an ERA of .258; he also has the second-most home runs as a hitter (25)  in all of baseball. It is doubtful that with his talent that the Angels will use a DH in the Yankees American league park. Ohtani on the season is 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA and 82 strikeouts. His last loss was on May 28th against Oakland. The game will be televised only on the YES Network and Bally Sports West.

Thursday, July 1st, 1:05 pm:

The final game of the series will be a matinee on Thursday. Jordan Montgomery will be on the mound for the Yankees and Griffin Canning for the Angels. Montgomery has started more games that the Yankees have won than any other Yankee pitcher. His record is 3-2 with an ERA of 4.06 and with 80 strikeouts. He is coming off a 4-2 loss against the Red Sox, but the Yankees won his previous six games.

Griffin Canning is 5-4 with a somewhat elevated ERA of 4.95. Canning is coming off two straight losses, one to the Athletics and most recently to the Tampa Bay Rays,  going 5 innings, giving up 2 earned runs per game. This will be Canning’s 14th start of the season. The New York Yankees will have to study the videos as only Rougned Odor has faced Canning. He had five at-bats resulting in two RBI’s. Thursday’s game will be on YES, Bally and MLB out of market.