LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the seventh (2-4) and final game on a road trip against the Chicago White Sox (2-1) and Houston Astros (0-3; June 1-4)…Halos went 5-4 on last homestand against the Minnesota Twins (2-1), Boston Red Sox (3-0) and Miami Marlins (0-3)…LAA was 3-4 on last road trip to Cleveland (1-2) and Baltimore (2-2).
.500 AGAIN: With a 30-30 record, Halos are back at exactly .500 on the season for an 11th time (previously 1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 14-14 & 22- 22).
WINS AND LOSSES: Angels have lost three straight games, which matches longest streak of season (third time; also April 14-16 & May 26-28)…Halos have not lost four consecutive games since Sept. 11-14, 2022 and are looking to avoid matching season-low at one game under .500 (last time: 11-12 record on April 24).
BRINGING THE HEAT: RHP Ben Joyce made his Major League debut on Monday at White Sox, working one scoreless inning with two strikeouts…Across his three appearances, 48 of 53 pitches have been at 100+ MPH…In the Statcast era (since 2015), only Shohei Ohtani (70) has thrown more pitches at 100+ MPH for the Angels.
VS. HOUSTON: Astros lead the 2023 season series 5-1 after taking two of three in first series of the year at Angel Stadium from May 8-10 and the first three games of current series in Houston…Halos have only been swept by Houston in a four-game series one previous time (May 31-June 3, 2013 at Angel Stadium)…Mike Trout leads all active players with 29 career home runs vs. Houston.
DINGER DUO: Wednesday at Chicago (A.L.) was the 27th time that Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game…It’s the third highest total among duos in Angels history (trails only Trout/Pujols – 48 games & Salmon/Anderson – 28 games).
JUST MET A MAN NAMED BARRIA: Since April 8, Jaime Barria leads the Majors (min. 20 IP) with a 0.59 ERA (30.1 IP – 2 ER)…He made his second start of the season Wednesday at White Sox and earned the win (has also made 11 appearances from Angels bullpen this year).
LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani, leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.175) and ranks third in strikeouts (96).
PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 47 of 60 games played this year.
LEAD ASSISTANT: Hunter Renfroe is tied for second in the American League with five outfield assists this season…Since 2017, his 61 outfield assists lead the Majors (Starling Marte is second with 52 assists).
THE MICK: Mickey Moniak is one of three players in the Majors with at least three leadoff HR this year, along with Mookie Betts (5) and Christian Yelich (3)… On May 13 at Cleveland, became the first player in MLB history to make his season debut on his birthday and hit a leadoff home run.
LATE COMEBACKS: Halos have three wins this season when trailing after eight innings, which matches the Angels total from each of the last two seasons…Last time LAA had more than three wins in a season when trailing after eight frames was 2017 (5).
ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.50 ERA (24 IP – 4 ER) and has converted all 13 of his save opportunities (the 13 saves are a new career high)…He is the first Angels pitcher to convert his first 13 save opportunities of a season since Troy Percival had 16 straight successful save opportunities to begin the 2001 season.
CATCHING ON: This season, Angels catchers are tied for third with 10 home runs and rank fourth in the Majors with a .778 OPS.
SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 50 singles this year plus 11 extra-base hits (eight doubles, one triple & two home runs)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (61), for the American League lead in singles…Since May 5, Urshela ranks third in the American League with a .348 (32/92) batting average in that span.
NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by 11 pitches this season, which is second-most in the Majors…Since 1901, he is tied for the fewest career games played (45) when reaching 11 career HBP (also, Tim Locastro for Dodgers/D-backs from 2017-19).
BACHMAN IN THE SHOW: Sam Bachman made his MLB debut on May 26 vs. Miami with 2.0 innings pitched in relief…The Angels first round pick (ninth overall) in the 2021 Draft, Bachman is currently rated by MLB Pipleline as the #4 prospect in the Halos system…He is the highest drafted player from the 2021 Draft to debut and the only pitcher from the first two rounds of that Draft to appear in the Majors.
FEELS FAMILIAR: Tuesday night, Taylor Ward hit his second career leadoff home run…Both came at Guaranteed Rate Field off Lucas Giolito (also, 4/29/22).
UNEARNED: Angels have allowed 31 unearned runs this season, which is tied with San Francisco for the Majors…Halos have committed 36 fielding errors this season, which is sixth-most in the Majors and second-most in the A.L.
RECENT ROSTER MOVES: Yesterday, the Angels recalled RHP José Soriano from Double-A Rocket City… He made his MLB debut yesterday in 8th inning, tossing 1.0 scoreless frame…Soriano is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Angels #25 prospect…In a corresponding move, RHP Chase Silseth was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake following Friday night’s game.
CUBS ON DECK: Following the current series in Houston and an off day on Monday, the Angels will open their next homestand with three games against the Chicago Cubs (June 6-8)…The series will mark the first meetings between the teams since 2019 and the Cubs first visit to Angel Stadium since the first two games of the 2016 regular season…Halos are 6-11 all-time vs. Cubs (2-5 at Angel Stadium)…The six wins are the fewest vs. any opponent.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP GRIFFIN CANNING
4-2, 4.89 ERA
Has won each of last two starts
- TODAY’S GAME: Making ninth start of the season and fifth on the road…Second start of 2023 vs. Astros…Is in fourth Major League season with Angels.
- STREAKING: Has won each of last two starts…With a win today, would mark first time in career winning three straight starts and would longest streak of consecutive winning decisions (won three straight decisions from June 9, 2021 – May 4, 2023).
- HE’S BACK: Made season debut on April 12 vs. Washington; first Major league appearance July 2, 2021… Missed Angels first 11 games of the season on injured list with a left groin strain…Spent entire 2022 season and final two months of 2021 season on IL with a low back stress reaction.
- OVER SEVEN HITS: Allowed career high nine hits in start on May 17 at Baltimore…Was first time allowing more than seven hits in his career…Streak of 46 straight starts with seven-or-fewer hits allowed was second-longest in Angels history (Rickey Clark had a 50 game streak between the 1967-1971 seasons).
- CURRENT TRENDS: Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in six of eight starts this season, including each of last three appearances.
- LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win in last start on Monday at Chicago (A.L.) after tossing 6.0 innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits with no walks and nine strikeouts
- SEVEN SCORELESS: Earned win on May 23 vs. Boston after tossing a season-high 7.0 scoreless innings; matched longest scoreless appearance of career (also, 7.0 shutout frames on May 18, 2019 vs. KC).
- VS. HOUSTON: In five career games vs. Houston, is 0-2 with a 9.87 ERA (17.1 IP – 19 ER)…Took loss earlier this season vs. Houston on May 10 at Angel Stadium (3.2 IP – 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO)
- AT MINUTE MAID PARK: Only previous appearance at Minute Maid Park came on April 24, 2021 (L; 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR).
- THAT’S RIGHT: Through eight starts this year, has held righties to a .244 average (19/78) compared with a .262 (22/84) opponent average against left-handers.
- GETTING AHEAD: Recorded a first pitch strike on 66.1% (119/180) of his batter faced this season.
- UNFAMILIAR FOES: In his career as a starter, has held opponents to a .210 average (80/381) in opposing batter’s first plate appearances of a game.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT: The Astros will go for the four-game sweep of the Angels today in the finale of their seven-game homestand… they’ll be behind rookie RHP J.P. France, who’s making just his sixth Major League start and his first against the Angels…he’ll be opposed by RHP Griffin Canning, who the Astros tagged for five runs on five hits earlier this season on May 10 in Anaheim.
SWEEPSTAKES: The Astros have only one four-game sweep against the Angels in their history, doing so from May 31-June 3, 2013 in Anaheim…of course, the Astros last four-game sweep was in the 2022 ALCS against the Yankees, while their last regular season four-game sweep came against the Tigers from May 5-8, 2022 in Houston.
GRINDERS: Today is the 10th day in a streak of 17 consecutive days with a game for the Astros, with Houston going 7-2 in their last nine…prior to this streak, the most days the Astros had played in a row was seven, a streak that opened the season from March 30-April 5.
THE FRENCHMAN:RHP J.P. France has been solid in his first five Major League starts, limiting his opponents to one-or-fewer earned runs in three of those outings…the 28-year-old rookie, and the former 14th-round pick by the Astros, earned his way to the Major League rotation after having a strong start to the season at Triple A Sugar Land, going 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA (5ER/19.1IP) in five games (three starts).
SATURDAY SPECIAL: The Astros and Angels played a high-scoring affair yesterday, with Houston holding on for a 9-6 victory…3B Alex Bregman had the big blow for Houston, a grand slam in the 4th, and matched a career high with four walks on the day…RHP Cristian Javier (1ER/6IP) pitched well in his start, earing his fifth consecutive win.
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY: Yesterday, 3B Alex Bregman became the fourth player in Major League history to record four walks and a grand slam in the same game…he joined Detroit’s J.D. Martinez (May 16, 2017 vs. BAL), Cleveland’s Bobby Bonds (Sept. 9, 1979 vs. TOR) and Boston’s Ted Williams (May 18, 1946 at STL) on that exclusive list.
HITTING HEAT: Yesterday, RF Chas McCormick homered on a 102.5-mph fastball from RHP Ben Joyce, which ranked as the second-fastest pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast Era (since 2015)…the only other homer to top this was hit by Rafael Devers off a 102.8 mph fastball thrown by LHP Aroldis Chapman on Aug. 13, 2017 at NYY.
RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros are 18-5 in their last 23 games dating back to May 9, placing them a season high 12-games over .500…since May 9, the Astros have the best record in the Majors, immediately ahead of the Rangers (16-7).
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.24) and have allowed the fewest runs (207) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank second the Majors in ERA (3.24) and have allowed one-or-fewer earned runs in 10 of their last 15 games…also, the Astros bullpen ranks fourth in the Majors in ERA (3.24).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.24 1. Houston: 207
- Minnesota: 3.44 2. Minnesota: 220
- Atlanta: 3.63 3. Texas: 221
HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 19 appearances (16.2IP), which is the longest scoreless appearance and innings streak of his career…the streak also is the longest scoreless inning streak by an Astro this season and is the longest active streak in the Majors.
AMERICAN LEAGUE RANKINGS: LF Yordan Alvarez leads the Majors in RBI (51), while ranking second in the AL in SLG (.578), tied for second in homers (15), third in OPS (.969), tied for sixth in walks (30), seventh in OBP (.391) and tied for seventh in runs scored (38)…3B Alex Bregman ranks fourth in walks (34) and first in walk to strikeout ratio (1.31).
HOT CORNER HEATER: 3B Alex Bregman, who’s on a season-long, 10-game hit streak, is hitting .330 (30×91) with three doubles, four homers, 21 RBI and a .920 OPS in his last 24 games, dating back to May 8…since that date, he’s raised his season batting average from .195 up to .251.
SECOND TO NONE: SS Jeremy Peña has hit second in eight straight games, with the Astros going 6-2 in those games, and has hit second 13 times in 2023 (8-5)…over the last two years, including the postseason, the Astros are 61-14 when he hits second…Peña is hitting .354 (17×48) with five homers and a 1.196 OPS in his 13 games hitting second this season.
UPCOMING ROAD TRIP: After today’s game, the Astros will head out on a seven-game road trip that will take them through Toronto (4g) and Cleveland (3g)…the Astros are 17-10 (.630) on the road, which ranks as the second-best road record in the AL, trailing only the Orioles (19-10, .655).
TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP J.P. FRANCE
LAST START – 5/29 VS. MIN: worked a career-high 6 IP and matched his career high of 8 strikeouts while allowing 4 runs, 7 hits and 3 walks in a 7-5 loss to the Twins. Has struck out 8 batters in back-to-back starts.
THE FIRST FRANCE: rookie right-hander made his Major League debut with his start on May 6 at Seattle…allowed 1 earned run in 11.2 IP through his first two MLB starts…he became the 4th pitcher in club history to work 5.0-plus innings, allowing 1-or-fewer runs in each of his first 2 Major League starts… joining LHP Dallas Keuchel (2012), LHP Carlos Hernández (2001) and RHP Manny Hernández as the only other Astros pitcher to record this feat.
ABOUT FRANCE: was selected in the 14th round by the Astros in the 2018 draft out of Mississippi State…the 2023 season is his 6th in the Astros system.
- pitched for 3 years at Tulane, missed his sophomore season due to injury, before he transferred to Mississippi State…posted a 3.77 ERA in 25 appearances (59.2IP/2GS) as a grad transfer…he played a crucial part in the Bulldogs clinching an NCAA Super Regional berth by throwing 7.0 innings of two-run ball vs. Oklahoma in the Tallahassee Regional.
FRANCE’S 2023 MILB SEASON: prior to being recalled, he was with Triple A Sugar Land, going 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA (5ER/19.1IP) in 5 games (3 starts)…worked between the rotation and bullpen in the Space Cowboys’ piggyback starter role.
- had 26 strikeouts in 19.1 innings, while allowing just 9 hits on the season… posted a .136 (9×66) opponent average and a 1.03 WHIP.
- did not allow a home run this season in the homer-friendly Pacific Coast League…has not allowed a homer at the MiLB level since Aug. 13, 2022 at ELP…since that date, has made 17 total MiLB appearances (36IP).
FANNING FRANCE: has posted huge strikeout numbers in his minor league career, fanning 447 in 362.1 innings pitched…it is the most strikeouts by an Astros minor league player since he entered the system in 2018.
- prior to being recalled, he ranked T-5th in strikeouts-per-9-innings (11.10) among Astros minor league pitchers since 2018 (min 200 IP).
FRANCE’S CAREER: has a career 20-17 with a 3.73 ERA in 99 games (56 starts) in the minors.
- spent the entire 2022 season with Triple A Sugar Land, going 3-4 with a 3.90 ERA (48ER/110.2IP) in 34 games (15 starts)…struck out 136 hitters in his 110.2 innings, while allowing a .233 opponent average…began his season working in the rotation or making multi-inning piggyback appearances… moved to a traditional relief role in late August, finishing his season with 12 consecutive relief appearances of 2.0-or-fewer innings…posted a 2.31 ERA (3ER/11.2IP) in 9 relief appearances in September.
