LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the first of nine games on a road trip against the New York Mets (Aug. 25-27), Philadelphia Phillies (Aug. 28-30) and Oakland A’s (Sept. 1-3)…Halos went 1-5 on last homestand against Tampa Bay (1-2) and Cincinnati (0-3)…Halos went 2-4 on last road trip against Houston (1-2) and Texas (1-2)…LAA was 2-5 on last homestand against the Mariners (0-4) and Giants (2-1).
TODAY’S TRANSACTIONS: The Angles have recalled INF Trey Cabbage from Triple-A Salt Lake…In a corresponding move, OF Mike Trout (left hamate fracture) has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retro to Aug. 23…Trout had returned to the Angels lineup on Aug. 22 for one game, after missing the previous 38 games on the IL with a left hamate fracture.
THE INJURED LIST: Angels currently have 16 players on the injured list and have used the IL a total of 30 times this year for 25 different players.
SCHANUEL IN THE SHOW: Nolan Schanuel has hit safely in each of his first six MLB games…The rookie made his MLB Debut last Friday vs. Tampa Bay just 40 days after being selected in the first round (11th overall) by the Angels in the 2023 Draft from Florida Atlantic University…He joined LHP Brian Anderson (1993) and DH Danny Goodwin (1975) as the only Halos to debut in their draft year.
RECORD SETTING PACE: Shohei Ohtani’s 44 home runs through the first 128 team games of the season are the most in Angels history (the previous record was 42 HR by Mike Trout in 2019)…Club record through 129 team games was also 42 HR by Trout in 2019.
HOME RUN LEADERS: Angels rank fourth in the Majors with 188 home runs this season…Only the Braves (240), Dodgers (197) and Rays (189) have homered more.
FIRST ROUNDERS: The Angels current active roster features nine former first round draft picks: Tyler Anderson (2011 – COL), Reid Detmers (2020 – LAA), Lucas Giolito (2012 – WSH), Randal Grichuk (2009 – LAA), Mickey Moniak (PHI – 2016), Mike Moustakas (2007 – KC), Hunter Renfroe (2013 – SD), Nolan Schanuel (2023 – LAA) and Matt Thaiss (2016 – LAA)…Halos also have an additional seven first rounders on the IL (Jo Adell, Sam Bachman, C.J. Cron, Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon, Mike Trout and Taylor Ward).
HELLO, MY NAME IS…: The Angels have used 60 different players this season (most in the Majors)…LAA set a franchise record last year with 66 players used.
LOW WATER MARK: With a 61-67 record, Angels are six games under .500, which is the low water mark for the season…Angels have not been seven games under .500 since finishing the 2022 season with a 73- 89 record.
SANDY STARTING: Today’s starting pitcher, Patrick Sandoval, has compiled a 2.97 ERA (36.1 IP – 12 ER) and 37 strikeouts across his last seven starts…He has allowed two-or-fewer earned runs in six of the seven games.
BACKSTOPS BACK HOME: The Angels trip to New York serves as a homecoming for the Halos current catching tandem…Logan O’Hoppe is a native of West Islip, NY and attended St. John the Baptist HS…Matt Thaiss is a native of Jackson, NJ, where he attended Jackson Memorial HS.
VS. NEW YORK (N.L.): This series marks the first meetings between the Angels and Mets since June 10-12, 2022 at Angel Stadium (NYM won two of three games)…Halos are visiting Citi Field for the first time since May 19-21, 2017…Mets lead all-time series 11-10.
SETTING THE TONE: The Angels rank second in the Majors with eight leadoff home runs this season (four by Mickey Moniak and two each from Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo)…Only the Dodgers (11 – all by Mookie Betts) have hit more this year…The eight leadoff homers are tied for the third-most in a season in Halos history (LAA had 10 leadoff HR in 1986 and nine in 2021).
UNEARNED: The Angels lead the Majors this season with 65 unearned runs allowed…Patrick Sandoval leads all individuals with 13 unearned runs allowed in 2023… Halos have committed 77 errors this year, which are fourth-most in the Majors.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP PATRICK SANDOVAL
6-10, 4.08 ERA
Has surrendered two-or-fewer earned runs in six of last seven starts.
- TODAY’S GAME: Making 23rd start of the season and 13th on the road…Is in fifth Major League season with Angels…Made third Opening Day roster (also, 2020 & 2022).
- LAST TIME OUT: Took loss on August 19 (Game 2) vs. Rays after tossing 4.2 innings and allowing six runs (two earned) on seven hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
- VS. NEW YORK (N.L.): Took loss in only previous appearance vs. Mets, tossing 6.0 innings and surrendering two runs on eight hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts on June 12, 2022 at Angel Stadium.
- AT CITI FIELD: Making first career appearance at Citi Field.
- INTERLEAGUE PLAY: In 21 career Interleague games (17 starts), is 3-8 with a 4.33 ERA (99.2 IP – 48 ER)…This year, is 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA (32.2 IP – 11 ER) in six starts against N.L. opponents.
- SCORING CHANGE: Major League Baseball has made an official scoring change to Game 2 of the Angels doubleheader on July 27 at Detroit…In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Matt Vierling reached on what was originally ruled a single and a throwing error…This has been changed to a straight error on Patrick Sandoval…As a result, the two runs charged to Sandoval in that inning are now unearned.
- GET SETTLED: This season, 14 of 66 (21%) of runs have come in the 1st inning and 22 (33%) in the 3rd inning.
- IN THE ARSENAL: This season, has thrown changeups 26.2% of the time and is holding opponents to a .172 (26/151) average with 51 strikeouts…Throws sliders 28.3% of the time, with opponents batting .268 (38/142) against the pitch.
- LEFT IN THE PARK: Since start of 2022, is second in the Majors (min. 250 IP) with a 0.58 HR/9 innings rate… Has not allowed multiple home runs in a start since July 18, 2021…On August 1, allowed a home run to a left-handed batter (Michael Harris II, ATL) for the first time since Aug. 13, 2021 (Kyle Tucker, HOU).
- GROUND RULES: This year, ranks sixth in the American League (min. 110 IP) with a 50.1% ground ball rate… Since start of 2022, ranks fourth in A.L. (min. 250 IP) with a 48.6% ground ball rate.
- GOOD NIGHT: This year, has a 3.44 ERA (81 IP – 31 ER) in night games, compared with a 5.50 ERA (36 IP – 22 ER) in day games…Last season, was 4-4 with a 2.50 ERA (72 IP – 20 ER) with 75 strikeouts in his 13 night starts, compared with a 2-5 record and 3.29 ERA (76.2 IP – 28 ER) in his 14 day games.
- HOT SUMMER: Pitched to a 1.04 ERA (17.1 IP – 2 ER) and .136 opponent batting average (8/59) with 16 strikeouts in three starts in July…Holds a 3.40 ERA (79.1 IP – 30 ER) and .216 opponent batting average (64/296) with 93 strikeouts in the month of July in his career.
- BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: Earned the win on June 16 at Kansas City after tossing 7.0 scoreless innings…First scoreless start of the season and snapped streak of five straight starts with a losing decision.
- HOME OPENER: Started Angels Home Opener on April 7 vs. Toronto…Tossed 6.0 innings and allowed one earned run…Marked second time starting Angels Home Opener (also, 2020 vs. Seattle).
- WINNING STREAKS: Loss on April 20 at Yankees snapped streak of three straight winning decisions (dating back to last season), which was longest streak of career
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets fell to the Braves, 7-0, on Thursday night…The Mets are coming off a seven-game road trip (4-3) to St. Louis (3-1) and Atlanta (1-2)… The Mets were off yesterday…Tonight, they return to New York to open a 10-day, nine-game homestand against the Angels (three games), Rangers (three games) and Mariners (three games).
KODAI SENGA GIVEAWAY: The first 15,000 fans in attendance tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 25 will receive a voucher for Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost Fork Ball redeemable upon exit…This voucher can ONLY be redeemed upon exit from the ballpark at the Jackie Robinson Rotunda Gate on the date of distribution.
TAKE THE TRAIN TO THE GAME: The Mets are encouraging all fans attending the games taking place August 25th – September 3rd to take the train to the game…With the capacity crowds expected at both Citi Field and the US Open, using mass transit and rideshare will be the most efficient ways to arrive to the ballpark…The LIRR and the 7 train have added additional trains for baseball and tennis fans…If you drive, please arrive early to avoid traffic delays.
LITTLE BLACK BACKPACK: Earlier today, Mr. and Mrs. Met visited the Queens Public Library at Elmhurst to help distribute backpacks filled with brand-new school supplies provided by the Amazin’ Mets Foundation…This distribution was made possible through a $175,000 grant to New York Cares that will provide 10,000 backpacks to local Title I schools and community organizations.
150: Kodai Senga now has 154 strikeouts on the season…He became the seventh pitcher in franchise history to record at least 150 strikeouts in his rookie season… Senga is tied with Gary Gentry for sixth place among rookie pitchers in team History (Gentry had 154 in 1969)…His is the fifth pitcher of Japanese origin to post at least 150 strikeouts as a rookie, joining Hideo Nomo (236 in 1995), Yu Darvish (221 in 2012), Daisuke Matsuzaka (201 in 2007), and Kenta Maeda (179 in 2016)… Courtesy of sportsradar.
LIVIN’ IN THE CITI: Tonight the Mets begin a nine-game, 10-day homestand…The Mets have played 59 games at home this year, tied for the fewest in the majors… New York is 31-28 at Citi Field this year, posting a 4.14 ERA.
I DON’T WANT TO ROCK, DJ: In 31 games this year, DJ Stewart is batting .261 (18-69) with nine runs, four doubles, six home runs, 12 RBI, eight walks, a .342 OBP and a .580 SLG…Over the last eight games, Stewart is batting .393 (11-28) with two doubles, five home runs and nine RBI…Stewart recorded a career-high 12 home
runs in 100 games with Baltimore in 2021.
LINSANITY: Lindor is on a 10-game hitting streak, batting .400 (16-40) in that span with 10 runs, four doubles, one home run, eight RBI, three walks and three steals…Over his last 56 games, he is batting .311 (65-209) with 44 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 34 RBI, 28 walks, 16 steals with a .399 OBP, a .545 SLG and a .945 OPS…Lindor has stolen 22 bases in 126 games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
I DECLARE fWAR: Francisco Lindor ranks fifth in the majors and fourth in the National League with a 5.3 fWAR…Since he joined the Mets, Lindor has posted a 16.3 fWAR…Only Freddie Freeman (18.1) and Mookie Betts (17.3) have posted a higher mark in the Senior Circuit…His 16.3 fWAR since 2021 ranks fifth in the majors in that span.
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil has safely hit in 16 of his last 19 games, batting .347 (26-75) with 13 runs, three doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI, and four walks with a .507 SLG in that span…In 38 games following the All-Star break, McNeil is batting .293 (44-150) with 22 runs, six doubles, one triple, three home runs, 21 RBI, seven walks with a .344 OBP…He has struck out only 12 times in 163 plate appearances following the All-Star break.
THE ROAD TO 100: Pete Alonso is second in the majors and in the NL with 95 RBI… He has previously recorded two seasons with 100 RBI (120 in 2019 and 131 in 2022)…He is seeking to become the fourth player in Mets history to record three or more seasons with 100 or more RBI…David Wright is the franchise leader with
five such seasons…Carlos Beltrán and Darryl Strawberry recorded three seasons each.
MONTHLY REPORT: Pete Alonso has recorded nine home runs in 23 games this month…His career-best for any single month is 11 home runs, which he recorded in 27 games in September of 2019…He has recorded five months with at least 10 home runs in his career…His next home run would mark the second time this year that Alonso has hit 10 homers in a single month…He hit 10 home runs in May…He also hit one home run in March and nine in April.
THIS IS ALMOST 40: Pete Alonso is third in the majors and second in the National League with 39 home runs…Alonso is one home run shy of recording his third season of 40 or more home runs…He socked 53 in 2019 and 40 last season… He is the only player in franchise history with multiple seasons of 40 or more home runs…Since he entered the league in 2019, only two other players have recorded multiple seasons with 40 or more home runs (Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout)… Only one active player (Nelson Cruz, four) has more than three 40-HR seasons…Alonso’s 185 home runs since he entered the league in 2019 are the most in the major leagues…With one more long ball, he’ll become the fifth player in MLB history with three or more seasons with 40+ home runs in a player’s first five years…He would join Ralph Kiner (4), Ryan Howard (3), Albert Pujols (3) and Eddie Matthews (3).
GIMME A BREAK: Alonso is hitting .248 (34-137) with 20 extra-base hits, 34 RBI, 23 runs, 17 walks and a .939 OPS in 38 games following the All-Star break…He batted .211 (64-304) with 50 runs, seven one triple, 26 home runs and 61 RBI in the 82 games before the break.
RETURN OF THE BACH: Daniel Vogelbach has recorded four home runs over his last 11 games…He is batting .290 (9-31) in that span with six runs, 11 RBI, eight walks with a .450 OBP and a .677 SLG…He has posted an .798 OPS in 27 games following the All-Star break.
INVADER NIM: Over the last 15 games, Brandon Nimmo is batting .345 (20-58) with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs, four RBI, nine walks, a .433 OBP and a .534 SLG…He is batting .297 (46-155) with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 13 RBI, 12 walks with a .366 OBP and a .419 SLG against left-handed pitchers this year…His .297 average is the eighth-best in the majors by a left-handed hitter against fellow lefties.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 36-11 when the starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings…New York has gone 15-1 when its starter pitches 7.0+ innings and are
perfect 5-0 when the starter completes 8.0 innings.
STARTING PITCHER – KODAI SENGA RHP #34
2023 STATS: 10-6, 3.19 ERA
HARD TO HIT: This season, Senga has three starts of 7.0 or more innings and two or fewer hits allowed, tied with Shohei Ohtani and Reid Detmers of the Angels for the second-most such starts this season…That is tied with Dwight Gooden for the most such starts by a Mets rookie in a single season…Only Nolan Ryan (4, 1970) and Jacob deGrom (5, 2015) have had more such starts in a single season in franchise history.
I LOVE MY NEW HOME: Senga’s 2.63 ERA (20 ER/68.1 IP) is the fourth-best mark in the NL and the seventh-best mark in the majors…Senga has held opposing batters to a .184 average at home, the lowest-mark in the NL and the third-lowest mark in the majors…His 11.06 SO/9 rate at home is the fourth-highest in the NL and the 10thhighest in the majors (Min. 60.0 IP at home).
SENGA GENESIS: Senga has recorded 154 strikeouts through his first 23 career major league games, the fourth-most by a Mets pitcher in franchise history…Only Dwight Gooden (185), Matt Harvey (165) and Noah Syndergaard (156) have recorded more during that span…His 154 strikeouts are the fourth-most by a Japanese born pitcher through 23 career games…He trails only Hideo Nomo (212), Yu Darvish (172) and Masahiro Tanaka (159)…Senga’s 3.19 ERA is the eighth-lowest mark by a Mets pitcher through their first 23 career major league games (Min. 100.0 IP).
KODAI THE FRIENDLY GHOST: Senga’s 10 wins are the most among all major league rookies this season and his 154 strikeouts also lead all major league rookies…Among qualified National League pitchers, Senga is fourth in the in opponent’s average (.211), fourth in SO/9 (10.69) and fifth in ERA (3.19)…Senga ranks third in the majors in opponent’s average against left-handed batters with a .192 (43 – 224) clip (Min. 200 LHB faced).
PUTTING THE K IN FORK: Senga’s “ghost fork” has accounted for 81 of his 154 strikeouts through 23 starts…The pitch has a 58.6 percent whiff rate and a 27.3 percent putaway rate…Opponents have managed just 16 hits in 121 at-bats ending with the forkball, a .128 batting average.
