Angels vs Yankees Pick: NY Seeks Rebound From BoSox Sweep (Jun 16)

• Our Angels vs Yankees pick dives into LA visiting the Bronx with both teams trying to rebound from weekend sweeps
• LA is 33-37 and in 4th place in the AL West; NY is 42-28, in 1st place in the AL East
• The Bombers’ lead in their division is dwindling, with the Rays rapidly gaining ground
• Jose Soriano starts for LA against Clarke Schmidt for NY

Angels Hope Soriano Gets Them Back on Track

The Angels have played better than expected this season, with a record hovering around .500. They are within reasonable striking distance of the lead in the AL West. Still, they have been inconsistent, judging by being swept by the Orioles over the weekend right after they swept the Athletics and had won two of three against the Mariners.

Jose Soriano gets the start in the first of four in the Bronx. The righty has a solid 3.86 ERA in 14 starts. Over 79.1 frames, he’s allowed 80 hits and 34 earned runs, walking 39 and striking out 64. In his last start against the A’s, he threw 7 innings, gave up 2 hits, 1 run, striking out 12.

Soriano has limited exposure against the Yankees. He has never faced Aaron Judge. The only Yankee with a hit against him is Paul Goldschmidt, who is 1 for 2 with a single.

LA hits with decent power, but they are largely feast or famine. Taylor Ward is batting .214, Logan O’Hoppe is at .231, Jo Adell is hitting .227, and Mike Trout is batting .220. This is prevalent throughout the batting order. Ward leads the team with 18 home runs. Trout, a shadow of what he once was, has 11.

Boston Stymied the Yankees’ Offense

The Yankees scored a total of 4 runs in the weekend sweep by the Red Sox. They had swept the Royals in the series before. To make the situation more concerning, the Rays swept the Mets and are now 3.5 games out of first.

For the first game of the Angels series, Clarke Schmidt takes the hill.

Schmidt has a 3.60 ERA in 10 starts over 55 innings. He’s allowed 44 hits and 22 earned runs, walking 24, and striking out 57. In his last three starts, he’s thrown 17.2 innings, given up 13 hits, and 3 earned runs.

For the Angels, Jorge Soler is 2 for 2 with 2 singles against Schmidt. Trout is 2 for 3 with a double. Taylor Ward is 2 for 6 with a double. Zach Neto is 1 for 4 with a single.

Judge is still dominating MLB and is having a Ruthian year with a 1.229 OPS, 26 home runs, and a .378 batting average. Trent Grisham has 13 homers and an .816 OPS, but he’s leveled off after a hot start. Ben Rice’s batting average is down to .227. Jasson Dominguez has been struggling with a .237 average and 6 home runs.

Angels vs Yankees Pick: The Bombers Get Back in the Win Column

Soriano has been a good starter this season, but the Yankees will be hungry to rebound from their lost weekend in Boston. The Bombers swept the Angels in Anaheim earlier in the season. Schmidt will hold LA in check with the Yankees getting back in the win column.