The Yankees are reeling bit after being swept at the hands of the Red Sox this weekend. They would appear to have an easier target lined up for them as they return home in search of a rebound. After all, the Yankees swept the Angels in a three-game set in Anaheim as part of a largely fruitful West Coast trip. This is not to say the Angels were a pushover though—two of those three wins were decided by just one run. Additionally, Mike Trout was still rehabilitating a knee injury during that series; he was activated at the end of May and will participate in this four-game set in the Bronx. Thankfully he’s not the only star slugger who is back for the rematch, as Giancarlo Stanton is set to return during this series!
The Angels have played respectable ball this year, but the peripherals would indicate they’ve played above the sum of their parts. Their -53 run differential hews closer to the White Sox than the Mariners and Rangers, with whom they’re battling for second place in the AL West behind the Astros. Their offense and pitching staff both rank 26th in FanGraphs WAR (as of Sunday morning). They also just got swept by the Orioles.
Monday: Clarke Schmidt vs. José Soriano (7:05 pm ET)
Schmidt was excellent in his last outing against the Royals, helping clinch a series victory with six scoreless innings in Kansas City. He had that exact line in the Angels’ series on May 28—the Yanks squeaked out a 1-0 win. It feels like command has been the major impediment towards repeated success this year for the righty, but he had all his pitches dialed in on Wednesday. We’ll see if he can make it two in a row against a team he handled last month.
José Soriano is quite skilled at walking the metaphorical tightrope. He’s in the midst of a second straight solid season despite running a high walk rate and a low strikeout rate. If you’re guilty of both of those things you’d better be able to keep the ball on the ground, which Soriano does at a 67.4 percent clip. The Bombers will have to find a way to lift his heavy sinker.
Tuesday: Will Warren vs. Kyle Hendricks (7:05 pm ET)
Warren did not face the Angels in May, but he saw them in his first home start in MLB last August. The Halos tuned him up for eight runs on eight hits, which included a grand slam from Zach Neto, who has handily been their best hitter this season. Warren has come a long way since then, and will no doubt be motivated by that rough night to post a better result.
It’s hard to believe Professor Hendricks is still giving lectures, but the tenured veteran isn’t ready to be given the emeritus label just yet. Likely more on the roster for what he can teach than what he can provide in the rotation, Hendricks will try to keep the offense in striking distance rather than lay waste to opposing lineups with his vintage repertoire which always felt like it came from a different time. Even though he’s not a leading mind in his field anymore, it’ll be nice to see him in front of the class one more time.
Wednesday: Ryan Yarbrough vs. Jack Kochanowicz (7:05 pm ET)
This and Thursday’s pitching matchup are repeats of the first two games in last month’s series. Yarbrough got the win with six innings of one-run ball and Kochanowicz, who allowed four runs in the fourth but was excellent besides, took the loss.
Since we’ve got some reruns, let’s talk a bit more about Stanton’s return. It’s always tough to know what to expect from him in the regular season these days, especially as he returns from his tennis elbow—er, elbows. I expect him to get the majority of starts at DH going forward, especially since Ben Rice has put up a .405 OPS in June. But they may want to take things slow with him as he comes back. Aaron Boone may just sit him against the righty Kochanowicz then put him back in against the left-handed Tyler Anderson on Thursday. Certainly the Yanks won’t go without his bat against southpaws, whom they have nevertheless seen very well this year.
Thursday: Carlos Rodón vs. Tyler Anderson (1:05 pm ET)
Rodón is coming off a pair of uninspiring starts against the Red Sox, but it’s not like he got torn to smithereens either. In fact, Rodón has been a QC maven this year, posting five or more innings each time out even when he hasn’t had his best stuff. Needless to say, he had his best stuff in the seven-scoreless-inning, ten-strikeout masterpiece he twirled against these Angels on May 27th. Tyler Anderson was excellent as well, but the elder portsider allowed a pair of runs in an eventual 3-2 Yankee victory.
Notably, Rodón did not have to face Trout in that performance. The sure-thing Hall-of-Famer has not had a very Trout-esque season so far, and you can probably thank the thousand sledgehammers which have fallen out of a thundercloud to absolutely wreck the back half of his career. He’s been a bit true-outcome-heavy thus far, which might remind you of the other oft-injured superstar who missed these teams’ last meeting. One imagines the time hasn’t completely sanded away his athletic ability, though. One hopes.