The road trip was going to be a tough one to begin with for the Los Angeles Angels. But between rain outs and losses it became more difficult. The Halos opened the trip against the best team in baseball, and their losing streak reached eight games with a doubleheader loss to the Yankees. Everything bad that can happen is happening.
They scored one run in each of their losses in New York after the bullpen imploded against Toronto. At least they are getting out of the AL East for a weekend showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies, who enjoyed a day off Thursday after ending a five-game skid with a win over the Giants. The teams meet Saturday on FOX in the middle of a three-game set with Michael Lorenzen scheduled to take the bump for the Angels against Zack Wheeler.
Angels vs Phillies Date/Time
The interleague showdown between the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies takes place on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 7:15 p.m. ET from Citizens Bank Park. The game will air live on FOX with betting options for every game on the 2022 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
Angels vs Phillies Odds
Los Angeles Angels (Check Back Later)
Philadelphia Phillies (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Season So Far
Teams will face adversity over the course of a long season and that’s what the Angels are dealing with. After blowing late leads against Toronto they were swept in the Bronx scoring just one run in each game as their losing streak reached eight games. Seeing the pitching staff falter wasn’t a complete surprise since that’s been a sore spot in Anaheim for years. However, the lack of offense against New York was a shock. They cashed the UNDER in the last two games of that series and are even at 22-22-6 on the OVER/UNDER for the season.
For a team that hits the long ball the Angels were held in check in the Bronx. They’ve hit 68 homers this season and have four players with at least 10 led by Mike Trout’s 13. None of them left Yankee Stadium causing a shortage in runs.
It’s been a struggle for the Phillies, who expected to compete in the NL East. There is plenty of season remaining but at this point they are who they are. Last month they reached the breakeven point with a four-game winning streak that included three huge wins over the Dodgers. However, since then they’ve gone 5-12 though they stopped the bleeding with a 6-5 win over the Giants on Wednesday ending a five-game losing streak.
Offense hasn’t been the problem with the club averaging 4.5 runs and hitting .245. They’ve also smacked 58 homers to rank among the top-third in MLB in each category. Pitching on the other hand has been an inconsistent mess. The staff conceded at least five runs in six straight games and in eight of the previous nine with the OVER at 7-2.
Probable Pitchers
The Angels upgraded their staff in the offseason with Michael Lorenzen (5-2, 3.19 ERA) a huge piece. A reliever most of his career, he transitioned to a starting role and has been effective in his eight starts pitching into the sixth inning six times, including the last three. He threw a season-high 103 pitches last time out allowing five hits and three runs in 6.2 innings. He was in line for a win leaving with the lead, but bullpen issues surfaced giving him a ND.
Over his previous five starts Lorenzen was 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA over 32 innings. It will be interesting to see how the righty holds up as we get later in the season. He’s already gone 48.0 innings, his most in three seasons, and has never pitched more than 113.1 innings in a season. That came in 2015 with Cincinnati when he was primarily a starter. He made only eight starts between 2016 and 2021. As a contact pitcher he keeps the ball in the yard allowing just four homers this season. We’ll see how that flies in a park notorious for yielding big flies.
The Phillies are expected to send Zack Wheeler (3-3, 3.16 ERA) to the bump on Saturday. After losing his first three starts giving up 17 hits and 12 runs in 12.2 innings, Wheeler has settled into a groove going 3-0 with a nifty 1.40 ERA over his last six starts pitching into the sixth inning each time while not allowing a run in half those starts.
Wheeler allowed three runs, one earned, in the first inning against the Mets in his last start but settled down after that blanking New York on one hit over his final 5.0 frames. He’s faced the Angels only once in his career allowing two runs and four hits over 5.0 innings in a victory. He’s made 27 interleague starts going 8-7 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 158 innings.
Angels vs Phillies Predictions
The law of averages says the Angels will win a game sooner rather than later. Entering the series on an 8-game skid has them looking for answers and they likely won’t find them against Wheeler. But I do expect them to have more punch than what we saw in the Bronx, and Lorenzen has been steady. I’ll back the visitors as the bats come alive.
Prediction: Los Angeles Angels / OVER
