Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Angels
The Arizona Diamondbacks face off against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday in the middle contest of a three-game set at Angel Stadium, as we’re about to see a clash of two hapless teams. Both Arizona and LA were alive in the playoff race on Tuesday, but that’s not going to last for a long.
The Diamondbacks were sitting bottom of the NL West with a 17-31 record and 6.5 games behind the wild-card spot in the National League. The 20-28 Angels were fourth in the AL West and 6.5 games behind the bottom wild card in the American League.
These two interleague foes meet each other for the first time since 2018 when the D-backs won the four-game regular-season series 3-1.
Arizona’s free fall continues
Excluding the opening contest of this series, the Diamondbacks have dropped 20 of their previous 24 games overall. That run tells you enough about how good the D-backs have been playing lately. Furthermore, they’ve scored more than three runs only five times over their last 17 showings.The Diamondbacks are 25th in the majors in runs scored per game (4.06) while posting the fourth-worst slugging percentage of .364. They’ve struggled mightily over the last two weeks and since trading Starling Marte to the Marlins.
On the other side, Arizona is 20th in runs allowed per game (5.08), and the D-backs bullpen owns the eighth-worst ERA in baseball (4.94). Caleb Smith will get his third start of the season Wednesday night, and the lefty has a 3.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across just six innings.
It might be too late for LA
The Angels have won eight of their last 11 games, but their playoff chances are still thin. During that 11-game span, the Angels have swept a four-game series against the Astros. They are coming off two straight road wins over the Rockies, and the Angels will look to extend their streak.Their next seven games will come against Arizona and Texas at home, but the last five games of the season would be an ultimate challenge, as Halos visit the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Anyway, the Angels will certainly try their best to win everything they can. Dylan Bundy will toe the slab Wednesday against the D-backs, and the righty is undoubtedly the Angels’ best starter in 2020. He’s 5-2 with a 2.48 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 67/13 K/BB ratio in nine starts and 58 frames of work.
The Angels’ relievers have the ninth-worst ERA in the majors (4.87), but Bundy can take the distance, and he already pitched a complete game in August. Dylan was terrific last Sunday, tallying a win against Texas while striking out 12 in 7.1 innings of work.
Notable Trends
LA Angels:
- 8-3 in the last 11 games overall
- 6-3 in the last nine games at home
Arizona Diamondbacks:
- 3-12 in the last 15 games overall
- 1-11 in the last 12 games on the road
- 1-4 in the last five games against AL West
