The Los Angeles Angels get a chance to improve on a miserable showing last month when their offense struggled in a two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The latest matchup, which begins Friday at Dodger Stadium, provides the Angels a chance to redeem themselves after they were shut out in consecutive games at home by the Dodgers.
The Angels dropped both games by 2-0 scores, including the series finale on June 21 in which they had just two hits against seven Dodgers pitchers. Adding to the misery of that defeat was that it came during a strong start by Shohei Ohtani.
Now the Angels will move into the current series without star center fielder Mike Trout, who is out after breaking a bone in his wrist during Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres. Adding to the club’s concerns is that Ohtani left a start Tuesday with a blister issue, but he did serve as the designated hitter one day later.
The Angels now will lean on outfielder Jo Adell to contribute offensively as he becomes an everyday player while Trout recovers. Adell has been a force at Triple-A Salt Lake with a .956 OPS, 23 home runs and 55 RBIs.
After not being able to crack his way into the Angels outfield until now, Adell will move forward with a business-like approach.
“To be quite honest with you, I think I’ve had enough moments where you could say that I’m a factor,” Adell said this week. “I can be in a lineup and play and help a team win. I don’t really think it’s ‘Can I be here?’ It’s not a ‘happy-to-be-here’ thing. I’m more than ready to help and do my job.”
Angels manager Phil Nevin sounded as confident in Adell as the player felt in himself.
“You’re going to see a lot of Jo and I think he’s ready for this opportunity,” Nevin said.
The Angels will send right-hander Griffin Canning (6-3, 4.29 ERA) to the mound. In two career starts against the Dodgers, Canning is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA.
The Dodgers will counter with right-hander Tony Gonsolin (4-3, 3.69), who is going through his worst stretch as a major leaguer. Gonsolin, who has struggled with injuries since the second half of last season, is 0-2 over his past three starts with a 9.42 ERA.
“I just haven’t really been good lately,” said Gonsolin, who was named an All-Star in 2023.
“I feel like I’ve been walking more guys, falling behind in counts. Just not executing pitches. It’s super frustrating. I felt like I was doing OK until a few starts ago. Just trying to figure it out and trying to compete.”
Gonsolin in 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in two career starts against the Angels. He allowed one hit over 6 1/3 innings of a start against them last season.
The Dodgers’ injury-plagued pitching staff lost another member when right-hander Daniel Hudson went on the injured list Thursday with a knee sprain. Hudson, who earned his first save of the season Wednesday, had just returned from knee surgery last year.
–Field Level Media
