The Yankees continue this long West Coast trip with the first of six games against “LA” based teams tonight. Like the Mariners two weeks ago, the Angels are in the thick of a competitive AL West race, trailing Seattle by four games and two and a half back from the second-place Astros. Somewhat surprisingly, they have not been a disaster, even with legacy star Mike Trout injured yet again (and not particularly productive when healthy either).

The Halos swept the Dodgers in the Freeway Series a week ago, kicking off an eight-game winning streak that lasted until dropping a series to the last-place Marlins over the past couple days. The best Angels players have actually been Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe. A first-round pick three years ago, Neto has hit .284/.326/.537 with a 140 wRC+, a better mark than all but three shortstops in baseball. O’Hoppe has brought the hammer, as despite putting up a lower wRC+ than Neto (134), he’s homered 14 times — very good for a catcher. Taylor Ward has also provided pop, leading the team in homers with 15.

It’s another round of late nights folks. All times below are Eastern; note that as of late Sunday night, none of the Yankees’ starters are 100-percent official, but this is how their rotation currently lines up.

Monday — Ryan Yarbrough vs. Jack Kochanowicz (9:38pm ET)

Yarbrough has been one of the real unsung heroes of the squad so far. Stepping up from a bullpen role into the fifth starter’s job, the lefty has a 3.38 ERA and is making his fourth straight start. Since joining the rotation he’s actually been better than that topline number, giving up four earned runs in 14 innings. His stuff doesn’t dazzle, but it’s effective enough and he’s good enough at keeping the ball out of the heart of the zone that he’s become an asset in the wake of so many pitching injuries.

Kochanowicz, meanwhile, has not had the same kind of run. He walks nearly as many batters as he strikes out, with an ERA above five and a FIP higher than that. The 24-year-old righty stands 6-foot-7, but a good offensive approach should be able to chop him down to size.

Tuesday — Carlos Rodón vs. Tyler Anderson (9:38pm ET)

Every time I do one of these, I have to wonder if we’re finally seeing the Carlos Rodón we’ve hoped for for more than two years. The lefty has looked dominant for about a month and a bit, with a 2.88 ERA, and the only guys striking out more bats are arguably the very best in the sport:

Add to this that the Angels’ lineup strikes out more than any team but the Rockies, and we have the potential for something really special from Carlos on Tuesday night.

Something’s gotta give with Tyler Anderson though. The lefty has a 3.60 ERA, more than solid, but his FIP is a run and a half higher, almost entirely because of his home run propensity. The Yankees boast some right-handed pop, and Angel Stadium has always been homer friendly. The outcome of this one might just depend on how well Anderson can keep the ball in the park.

Wednesday — Clarke Schmidt vs. Yusei Kikuchi (9:38pm ET)

Clarke Schmidt has the ignoble note of being the Yankee starter in the loss to Colorado Friday night, where he was taken out before finishing five innings. He did strike out eight Rockies, but the big problem for him lately has been walks — with nine in his last three starts. Free passes may not hurt you against a team as bad as Colorado, but Schmidt was lucky to get away with five against the Mets. You can’t run that much luck for long.

Kikuchi, the former Blue Jay among other squads, signed in Anaheim over the winter for three years at $21 million per. So far, like top Yankees addition Max Fried, the Angels have gotten their money’s worth out of him, with a 3.17 ERA but the lowest strikeout rate since his rookie year in Seattle. He’s also walking batters at the second-highest rate of his career. A lot of the Angels’ starters seem to be walking a tightrope this year, and for Kikuchi you wonder how far he’ll be able to get with that combination.