The Los Angeles Angels have a chance to hit the All-Star break at the .500 mark if they can complete a three-game series sweep of the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels won the series opener, 6-5, on Friday on a walk-off RBI single by pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud and followed that with a 10-5 victory on Saturday, rolling up a season-high 15 hits in the process.
That win moved Los Angeles (47-48) within three games of the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Jose Soriano (6-6, 4.00 ERA) will take the mound for the Angels and will be opposed by fellow right-hander Merrill Kelly (7-5, 3.41).
Soriano is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Diamondbacks. That win came in Phoenix on June 12, 2024, when he allowed two earned runs on five hits in eight innings while striking out five in an 8-3 victory.
Kelly is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in one career start against the Angels, with that coming in 2021. Kelly allowed four hits and three earned runs in five innings of an eventual 6-5 Angels win.
The Diamondbacks have dropped 12 of their last 17 games since a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on June 24. That was also the last time Arizona won a series.
The Diamondbacks, who have a three-game losing streak, are 6 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League wild-card spot — with three teams to leapfrog.
“There’s some frustration that definitely is building inside (us) each day,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said following Saturday night’s loss. “I feel like we’re playing good baseball but not great baseball. We’re not doing the things that we traditionally do to help us win games.”
Pitching has been a major issue. Zac Gallen (7-10), rumored to be on the trade market, was hammered again in Saturday’s loss, allowing six runs on eight hits in five innings. It was the seventh time this season he has allowed at least five runs in a game.
“We’ve just got to keep fighting,” Lovullo said. “We’ve got one day before the break tomorrow. I don’t want us to dwell on anything negative. Flush what happened today and come out and try and win a game tomorrow.”
Mike Trout had two hits, including a two-run homer, and drove in four runs in Saturday’s win and moved closer to a couple of impressive milestones in the process.
Trout, who is batting .279 with eight home runs since coming off the injured list on May 30 (bone bruise on his twice surgically-repaired left knee), moved to within five homers of the 400-club and within six RBIs of 1,000 in his career.
“It’s huge,” interim Angels manager Ray Montgomery said. “Any kind of benchmarks like that, let alone to that extent, I mean you want to celebrate. … I think it’s a testimony to who he is because he’s so humble about everything. Those numbers are big.”
“It’s awesome,” added first baseman Nolan Schanuel, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and scored on Trout’s homer. “(Getting No. 395) tonight, and being on base for that, it’s just special. It’s history, so I love to be able to watch it.”
-Field Level Media