The first series of the second half finished yesterday in a dramatic fashion with an 11-inning game where the New York Yankees couldn’t achieve that second straight win against a motivated Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The 7-8 loss in extra innings on Sunday’s game after a Rockies’ comeback materialized by Alan Trejo’s walk-off Home Run put the exclamation point to the end of this Denver series. The Yankees left Colorado losing their first series of this half and staying tied with the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the AL East Division’s Standings (something that did not happen to this baseball club since the 1992 season after the first 93 games played).

On Monday, the Yankees are facing the Angels in the upcoming three-game series in Anaheim, California, with a highly anticipated American League matchup in the Angel Stadium. This series is already bringing a lot of interest in baseball fans because:

A promising batting match as the .258 BA of the Los Angeles Angels is ranked 9th and the .231 BA is ranked 27th. While on the pitching side, The Yankees have the numbers on their side because its 3.85 ERA is ranked and the .233 oAVG is ranked 3rd overall, while the Angels’ 4.55 ERA is ranked 24th and 0.249 oAVG is ranked 19th.

We will have the opportunity to watch part of the New York Yankees’ pitching staff facing the most exciting baseball player, Shohei Ohtani. His record against the Yankees pitchers is:

Ohtani’s overall statistics

PLAYER	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1 Shohei Ohtani DH	LAA	92	355	67	107	15	6	34	73	50	92	11	4	.301	.386	.665	1.051
2 J.D.Martinez DH	LAD	76	299	44	77	20	2	23	64	21	100	1	0	.258	.305	.569	.874
3 Jorge Soler DH	MIA	91	330	53	82	18	0	24	52	46	89	1	0	.248	.346	.521	.867
4 Justin Turner DH	BOS	90	344	58	100	21	0	14	56	35	64	4	0	.291	.362	.474	.836
5 Brent Rooker DH	OAK	80	266	33	65	12	1	16	44	33	94	2	0	.244	.340	.477	.817
6 Andrew McCutchen DH	PIT	75	266	40	71	11	0	10	28	49	65	9	3	.267	.380	.421	.801
7 Marcell Ozuna DH	ATL	76	273	37	66	8	0	17	40	31	71	0	0	.242	.320	.458	.778
8 Joey Meneses DH	WSH	86	347	34	98	21	1	6	49	22	77	0	0	.282	.323	.401	.724
9 Byron Buxton DH	MIN	76	271	43	54	12	1	15	36	33	96	8	0	.199	.289	.417	.706
10 Josh Bell DH	CLE	84	298	19	69	17	0	9	42	40	72	0	1	.232	.321	.379	.700

Source: MLB

Can the Yankees bounce back?

There is an opportunity for the New York Yankees to bounce back and have a possible series win over the Angeles Angels. Their position in the standings piles up pressure on them following the fans’ aspirations of being in championship caliber.

The series will remain rife with speculations and insights about the Yankees trade rumors involving Ohtani. According to insider Jon Paul Morosi, the Angels’ front office is ready to “consider” any request for trade related to Ohtani. It is evident that reinforcement for the Yankees would not be bad and could even help waking up the Yankees dangerous bats. Having the opportunity to have a close encounter with the Japanese superstar and the administration that runs the franchise where he plays at, could represent a chance to negotiate.

New York Yankees vs Angeles Angels stats comparison

Team	TG	G	PA	HR	R	RBI	SB	BB%	K%	ISO	BABIP	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	xwOBA	wRC+	BsR	Off	Def	WAR
LAA	94	1334	3611	142	469	451	46	8.9%	23.4%	.188	.304	.258	.332	.446	.336		113	-6.2	48.6	-7.9	16.3
NYY	94	1379	3443	131	415	398	56	8.5%	21.8%	.176	.262	.231	.301	.408	.307		95	-4.8	-24.1	3.5	9.6

Source: Fangraphs

The Yankees’ rotation could be a concerning topic as the struggling Luis Severino is set to start the series opener. But the person in charge of that role for tomorrow’s games is no other than Domingo German, who will be facing the lefty starter Sandoval in a very balanced matchup. In the third game, Carlos Rodon will be looking for his first win of the season.

The 1st Yankees vs. Angels game, July 17

Luis Severino’s stats during the first half:

In this series-opening game, Luis Severino will start on the mound facing the Angels’ number starting pitcher Griffin Canning.

Source: Baseball Savant

Luis Severino vs Angels batters

Griffin Canning vs Yankees Batters

Source: MLB

The 2nd Yankees vs. Angels game, July 18

Domingo German’s stats from the first half:

The Yankees field Domingo German while the Angels will have Patrick Sandoval on the mound.

Source: Baseball Savant

The 3rd Yankees vs. Angels game, July 19

Carlos Rodon’s statistic from the first half:

To close this series the former 2022 All-Star starting pitcher Carlos Rodon will take his third trip to the mound, as he will start on July 19 looking for his first win in this 2023 season. The expectations are high and a win from this veteran pitcher will be a relief for a Yankees club that has found support to keep an above .500 record because of its pitching staff.

Source: Baseball Savant

Considering the hitting ability of the Angels, the availability of the relieving pitchers is important to keep control in the game or let the opponents take advantage.