A pair of teams likely looking to next year continue an interleague set out in the City of Angels. The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road for the middle game of a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night. Pittsburgh was swept in St. Louis over the weekend as they dropped the finale of the set 11-9 on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles earned a split of their four-game series on the road in Boston as they prevailed 5-4 in 10 innings Sunday afternoon. The pitching matchup for Monday’s series opener saw Mitch Keller take the ball for Pittsburgh: he was scheduled to face the Angels’ Jose Suarez. First pitch in that contest was slated for 10:07 pm ET.
Pittsburgh Pirates Cratering in Second Half
Pittsburgh was in the thick of the NL Central race at the All-Star break: they entered Monday losers of eight straight and stood 4-24 in the second half of the season. Pittsburgh entered the opener of this set in the basement of the NL Central, 15.5 games behind the Cubs and 13.5 games behind the second wild card spot. The Pirates led 8-4 after six innings before giving up five in the seventh and two in the eighth to take the loss. Colin Moran (run), Bryan Reynolds (three runs) and Josh Bell (two runs, four RBI) each had three hits in defeat. Steven Brault didn’t factor in the decision as he allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 4.2 innings. Kyle Crick (3-7) took the loss as he allowed five runs on three hits and a pair of hit batters in two-thirds of an inning.
OH WOW, OSUNA. 😱#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/CX7hIshPDX
— Pirates (@Pirates) August 11, 2019
Trevor Williams gets the call for his 18th start of the year for the Pirates in this one. He has a 4-5 mark with a 5.06 ERA, a 1.344 WHIP, 24 walks and 78 strikeouts over 99.2 innings of work on the season. Williams took the loss in his last start, which came Wednesday at home against the Brewers. He allowed six runs on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout over five innings in a game the Pirates lost 8-3. Williams is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, six walks and 10 strikeouts over 18 innings in his last three starts. He faces the Angels for the first time in his career in this, his 88th major league appearance and 75th start. That makes this his first career outing at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Los Angeles Angels Try to Extend Pirates’ Misery
Los Angeles snapped an eight-game slide of their own by taking the final two games of their four-game set with Boston. The Angels entered Monday fourth in the AL West, 19.5 games behind the Astros: they were 11 games behind the Rays for the second wild card spot. Shohei Ohtani (two RBI) had three hits for Los Angeles while Luis Rengifo had a pair in the victory. Anthony Bemboom drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the 10th inning. Patrick Sandoval didn’t factor in the decision as he allowed four runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts over 4.2 innings. Hansel Robles (4-0) earned the win in relief as he tossed 1.1 scoreless innings: he allowed one hit with no walks and two strikeouts.
Anthony Bemboom made a statement in his Angels debut with the game winning RBI in the 10th.
@BankofAmerica | #TheHaloWay pic.twitter.com/y2PFti0Pvp— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 12, 2019
Griffin Canning is expected to get the ball for his 17th appearance and 16th start for the Angels in this contest. He comes in with a 4-6 record, a 4.76 ERA, a 1.197 WHIP, 26 walks and 86 strikeouts over 79.1 innings of work on the year. Canning picked up the win in his last start, which came against the Tigers at home on July 30. He threw six innings, allowing no runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in a game the Angels won 6-1. After that start, he was placed on the injured list with right elbow inflammation but is expected to return here. Canning is 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, eight walks and 15 strikeouts over 12.1 innings in his last three starts. This marks his first career appearance or start against the Pirates. Canning is 3-2 with a 4.93 ERA, a 1.145 WHIP, 14 walks and 46 strikeouts over 22.1 innings in nine career appearances, eight starts, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Team Trends
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- Pirates are 5-23 in their last 28 road games vs. a team with a winning home record
- Pirates are 1-5 in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a losing record
- Pirates are 1-5 in their last 6 during game 2 of a series
- Angels are 7-0 in their last 7 interleague home games vs. a right-handed starter
- Angels are 7-1 in their last 8 Tuesday games
- Angels are 24-8 in their last 32 interleague home games
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