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 |
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 |
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.
Availability in the Yankees’ Bullpen for Game 1
Source: MLB
Availability in the Angels’ Bullpen for Game 1
Source: MLB
Source: Baseball Savant
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