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The 6-4, first-place Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim come to Kauffman with the Royals in full April swoon. While the Royals bring up the rear in the American League Central, the Angels Thursday loss to the Rangers dropped them into a tie in the West with the Astros.
The pitching matchups will be as follows:
- Friday, April 14, 7:15 CDT - JC Ramirez (RHP) vs. Danny Duffy (LHP)
- Saturday, April 15, 6:15 CDT - Matt Shoemaker (RHP) vs. Nathan Karns (RHP)
- Sunday, April 16, 1:15 CDT - Tyler Skaggs (LHP) vs. Ian Kennedy (RHP)
Angels vs. Royals pitching matchups
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | G | IP | K | K% | BB | BB% | ERA | FIP | xFIP | SIERA | fWAR | rWAR |
| JC Ramirez | 3 | 5.0 | 3 | 12.5 | 2 | 8.3 | 5.40 | 5.58 | 4.55 | 4.25 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| Danny Duffy | 2 | 13.0 | 11 | 21.2 | 5 | 9.6 | 2.08 | 4.68 | 4.48 | 4.15 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Matt Shoemaker | 2 | 9.1 | 5 | 11.9 | 5 | 11.9 | 7.71 | 8.34 | 6.01 | 5.54 | -0.3 | -0.3 |
| Nathan Karns | 2 | 6.1 | 5 | 17.9 | 4 | 14.3 | 7.11 | 5.83 | 5.25 | 5.01 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| Tyler Skaggs | 2 | 10.1 | 10 | 20.4 | 5 | 10.2 | 8.71 | 6.56 | 5.06 | 4.52 | -0.2 | -0.4 |
| Ian Kennedy | 2 | 11.0 | 9 | 18.8 | 7 | 14.6 | 4.09 | 4.44 | 5.96 | 5.44 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
After three relief appearances this young season, JC Ramirez will make his first start at any level since the 2011 season (at Double-A in the Phillies organization), taking the spot of Garrett Richards, who shockingly went on the disabled list, this time with a biceps strain. In four partial major-league seasons, Ramirez has yet to play above replacement level.
Tyler Skaggs and Matt Shoemaker have both been largely miserable. Between their combined four starts, five or more runs have been allowed in three of those outings. In the one start in which fewer than five runs were allowed, Shoemaker yielded two earned in five innings at Oakland, striking out four but walking three while allowing two dongs that somehow were only solo shots in spite of the five non-dong baserunners for whom he’d been responsible.
Angels Position Players
| Player | Pos. | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos. | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | fWAR | rWAR |
| Yunel Escobar | 3B | 40 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .405 | .450 | .568 | .441 | 206 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Kole Calhoun | RF | 39 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .314 | .385 | .486 | .380 | 160 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| Mike Trout | CF | 39 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 0 | .294 | .359 | .735 | .439 | 204 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Albert Pujols | DH | 39 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | .194 | .256 | .306 | .240 | 57 | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| Andrelton Simmons | SS | 36 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | .344 | .417 | .469 | .390 | 168 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Cameron Maybin | LF | 25 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .261 | .320 | .435 | .330 | 123 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| C.J. Cron | 1B | 24 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .318 | .333 | .318 | .287 | 91 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Danny Espinosa | 2B | 34 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .194 | .235 | .387 | .267 | 77 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Martin Maldonado | C | 26 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .208 | .269 | .250 | .240 | 56 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Bench | |||||||||||||
| Carlos Perez | C | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .147 | -12 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Jefry Marte | IF/OF | 14 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .333 | .429 | .583 | .436 | 202 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Ben Revere | OF | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .231 | .286 | .385 | .293 | 95 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cliff Pennington | IF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .600 | .333 | .453 | 214 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout are doing nothing but rake. Andrelton Simmons, Kole Calhoun, and Cameron Maybin are all more than holding their own. Pujols, however, has been a black hole in the lineup. On the whole, the Angels’ lineup is leading all teams with a 132 wRC+. The offense has fueled much of Anaheim’s jump out to the lead in their division.
All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.
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Poll
Who will win the series?
This poll is closed
-
24%
Royals sweep
(46 votes) -
55%
Royals take two of three
(103 votes) -
16%
Angels take two of three
(31 votes) -
3%
Angels sweep
(7 votes)