The Los Angeles Angels will host the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif., looking to get their bullpen back to where it was in the first six weeks of the season.
Heading into Friday’s 4-2 loss to the A’s, the Angels’ bullpen ranked 15th in the majors with a 3.72 ERA. While he is in the middle of the pack, he has improved a lot since last season, when he was ranked 24th out of 30 clubs with a 4.59 ERA.
But the staff had a problem recently getting swept by the Texas Rangers. The Angels allowed 23 runs in the three games, 12 of which were allowed out of the bullpen.
Closer Raisel Iglesias had gone 8-for-8 in save opportunities but allowed home runs in back-to-back appearances against the A’s last Saturday and against the Rangers on Wednesday.
And setup man Ryan Tepera saw his season ERA rise from 2.08 to 4.67 after allowing five runs in his appearance last Tuesday against the Rangers when he didn’t record an out.
“We’ll get our bullpen good; I have a lot of faith in these guys,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said.
Tepera and left-hander Aaron Loup are newcomers to the Angels and have been a vital part of the bullpen’s success, adding quality and depth.
“The bullpen is used more in today’s game, and I’ve always said you have to be able to use everybody,” Loup said. “If you don’t have the confidence to throw, say, your lowest guy on the totem pole in a big situation, then we’re not going to be any good.”
Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (4-2, 3.57 ERA) will start for the Angels on Saturday, his seventh start of the season. He is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in two career games (one start) against Oakland.
Frankie Montas (2-4, 3.67) will be making his ninth start of the season for Oakland. The right-hander is coming off a loss to the Angels in his last appearance, though he allowed just two runs on five hits in six innings.
Those two runs came on a first-inning home run by Shohei Ohtani, after which Montas kept Anaheim’s potent offense in check. Although Montas’ record doesn’t reflect it, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Montas remains a force on the mound because of his division.
“It’s one of the best split-finger fastballs in the game right now,” Kotsay said. “I faced some good divisions in the past. Curt Schilling immediately comes to mind. John Smoltz and some others. From our point of view in the dugout, he gets to the hitting zone and just goes down.”
Montas has faced the Angels 14 times (11 starts) in his career. He is 4-2 with a 2.36 ERA against them. Montas has had career success against Mike Trout, limiting the Angels center fielder to three hits in 15 at-bats with four strikeouts.
Angels right fielder Taylor Ward is questionable for Saturday’s game after leaving Friday’s game in the ninth inning. Ward ran face-first into the right-field wall while catching a fly ball from Oakland’s Tony Kemp.
–Field level media
Reference-wgnradio.com