Two teams taking inventory as the trade deadline approaches go head-to-head Friday night when the San Francisco Giants host a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels have lost 13 of their last 18 and the Giants 12 of their last 19, falling a combined 33 games out of first place in their respective divisions following their most recent defeats Wednesday.
Los Angeles has scheduled right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (3-3, 8.23 ERA) for the series opener, opposed by San Francisco ace Logan Webb (5-7, 3.87).
The curtain-raiser will feature a somewhat rare Oracle Park appearance by Angels legend Mike Trout, who has hit just one home run in 21 plate appearances over five visits dating back to 2015. In fact, the homer came in Trout’s second game in San Francisco on May 2, 2015, when he took Tim Hudson deep.
At the time, the Giants were the defending World Series champions, while the Angels were coming off a playoff appearance. Los Angeles hasn’t been back to the postseason, while San Francisco has experienced just nine playoff games in the past 11 seasons.
The Trout-Webb matchup has been entirely one-sided. They hadn’t gone head-to-head until last April, when Webb struck out his rival three consecutive times in some epic duels that lasted a combined 21 pitches. They haven’t seen each other since.
They also missed each other at the All-Star Game earlier this month in Philadelphia, when Trout started for the American League. Webb was not summoned from the National League bullpen.
The Angels and Giants enter the lead-up to the Aug. 3 trade deadline as potential sellers, and both Trout and Webb’s names have been mentioned.
Trout recently took time to claim he’s more interested in helping drive the Angels back into the postseason.
“Could I take the easy way out and just leave? Yeah,” Trout admitted to reporters. “But, for me, right now, my focus is on trying to get this club back in the playoffs.”
The 34-year-old hasn’t homered since July 8 at Texas.
Webb is winless in three July starts, allowing 15 earned runs across 16 2/3 innings. He’s served up four homers in those outings after allowing just five through his first 14 starts.
Though the Giants find themselves in a deeper hole than the Angels in terms of playoff contention this season, Webb shares Trout’s attitude: fix the problem rather than leave it to someone else.
“We know we are capable of better,” he expressed recently to the media, “and we keep pushing ahead.”
The 29-year-old will be facing the Angels for just the third time. He has an 0-1 record and a 1.54 ERA from the previous two meetings.
Rodriguez has never faced the Giants, but he does have a winning record (4-2) in career interleague games.
The 26-year-old has been much better on the road (2-0 with a 3.48 ERA) than at home (1-3, 10.22 ERA) this season.
–Field Level Media
