LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the sixth (2-3) of nine games on a road trip against the New York Mets (2-1), Philadelphia Phillies (0-2; 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).
RECEIVING THE HARDWARE: Prior to today’s game, Mickey Moniak will receive his 2022 National League Championship ring from the Phillies in a pregame ceremony.
SCHANUEL IN THE SHOW: Nolan Schanuel has hit safely in each of his first nine MLB games, which ties an Angels record (see list below)…The rookie made his MLB Debut on Aug. 18 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.
RENGIFO ROLLING: Luis Rengifo has multiple hits in each of his last four games and has had three hits in each of his last two games (both streaks are career highs)… Over hislast nine games, he is batting .531 (17/32) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs and eight RBI.
VS. PHILADELPHIA: Angels lead the all-time series 12-6…Halos had won 12 straight against the Phillies between the 2003-17 seasons, but Philadelphia has won the last five meetings, including a three-game sweep last season at Citizens Bank Park.
FAMILIAR FACES: Mickey Moniak makes his return to Philadelphia for the first time since being traded to the Halos at last year’s trade deadline; he was the first overall pick in the 2016 Draft by the Phillies and played in 47 games across parts of three seasons in Philadelphia…Logan O’Hoppe makes his first career appearance in Philadelphia…He was a 23rd round pick by Phillies in 2018.
THE INJURED LIST: Angels currently have 17 players on the injured list and have used the IL a total of 32 times this year for 27 different players.
SETTING THE TONE: The Angels are tied (with the Phillies) for 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).
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.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
STUCK IN TRAFFIC ON THE WAY HOME: Since Aug. 1, the Phillies have hit a major league best 33 home runs with runners on base (next: ATL, 23) – Of Philadelphia’s 57 home runs this month, 57.9% have come with runners on base … Over the first four months of the season (Opening Day-7/31), the Phillies hit 42 home runs with runners on base which ranked T-22nd in MLB … The Phils have hit nine 3-run home runs this month which is 1st in MLB (next: BOS, 8) – from Opening Day through July 31, they hit only five 3-run home runs which ranked T-28th in MLB.
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS: The Phillies have hit 25 home runs as left handed batters off left handed pitchers this year which is most among all MLB clubs (next: LAD with 23) … Philadelphia’s lefty hitters have drawn 69 walks off left-handed pitchers which is tops in MLB (next: SD, 59 BB) – interestingly, Philadelphia’s righthanded hitters have drawn 47 walks off left-handed pitching which is the fewest of any team in MLB (next: KC, 51) – that said, Philadelphia’s right-handed hitters have a .478 SLG against LHP which ranks 3rd among MLB clubs … Combined (LHH & RHH), the Phillies are slashing .260/.324/.455 with a .778 OPS off lefties that ranks 6th in MLB … The Phils are 25-17 (.595 win %) in games they have faced a left-handed starter this year and have won four straight.
BALL GO BOOM: The Phillies have hit 57 home runs in the month of August which currently ranks T-9th among any club in MLB history for a single month – in order, here are the most home runs during a calendar month by any team in MLB history (h/t Elias): NYY hit 74 HR in Aug. of 2019, ATL hit 61 HR in June of 2023, TB hit 59 HR in April of 2023, MIN hit 59 HR in Aug of 2019, HOU hit 58 HR in Sept. of 2019, BAL hit 58 HR in May of 1987, SEA hit 58 HR in May of 1999 and NYY hit 58 HR in June of 2022 … Philadelphia’s 57 homers have set a franchise record for home runs in any single calendar month (previous: 46 in Sept. of 2019) … In August, the Phils are slashing .285/.355/.549 with an .904 OPS – among all clubs in MLB, their .549 SLG during the month ranks 1st in MLB (next: ATL, .522) and their .904 OPS ranks 1st (next: ATL, .894) … Philadelphia’s .549 SLG this month would set a record for any calendar month in franchise history (previous: .526 SLG in July of 2007) and their .904 OPS would be the highest during any month since they posted a .911 OPS that same July … The Phils lead MLB with 119 extra-base hits during August which are their most in a month in at least the Modern Era (since 1900).
BASH BROS: Of Philadelphia’s 57 home runs this month, 35 have been hit by four players (61%): Kyle Schwarber (10 HR), Bryce Harper (9), Nick Castellanos (8) and Trea Turner (8) … Among all NL players in August, Schwarber ranks T-1st in homers, Harper ranks T-3rd and Castellanos and Turner rank T6th … This is the first time in club history the Phillies have had four different players with eight or more homers in a single month and it’s the first time any MLB team has had four or more players with eight home runs in a calendar month since Atlanta in Sept. of 2020 (4 with 8+).
HATS OFF TO YOU, THOMS: Since he was named manager on June 3, 2022, Rob Thomson has the Phillies 35 games over .500 at 139-104 with a .572 winning percentage that ranks 6th in MLB, trailing only ATL (.672), LAD (.657), HOU (.608), BAL (.598) and SEA (.588) … The Phillies are 76-44 under Thomson at CBP and their .633 winning % at home in that span ranks 4th in MLB behind only ATL (.714), LAD (.699) and TB (.653).
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: The Phillies are 49-26 with a +121 run differential (405-284) since June 3 this season which matches their record of 49-26 (357-280, +77 run dif.) from June 3-Aug. 26, 2022, Rob Thomson’s first 75 games as manager … Philadelphia’s .653 winning percentage since June 3rd ranks 2nd in MLB behind only ATL (53-21, .716 win %) … The Phils opened the 2023 season on the road and went 1-5 in six games through TEX (0-3) and NYY (1-2) … Since then (4/7-current), they are 73-53 with a .579 winning percentage that ranks 3rd in the NL behind only ATL (.645) and LAD (.621) and 6th in MLB.
TODAY’S STARTER – CRISTOPHER SÁNCHEZ • LHP #61
2023: 2-3, 3.33 ERA Career: 5-5, 4.24 ERA
LAST START: 8/25 vs STL: W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, HR, 0 BB, 6 SO …
Sánchez vs Mikolas … The Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2, as they opened a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park … Sánchez allowed 2 runs in the 1st inning but settled down and held the Cardinals scoreless following the 1st … Including Sanchez, Philadelphia’s pitchers retired the final 21 batters in order … Offensively, they tied a season-high with 9 extra-base hits (6 2B, 3B, 2 HR) as four different Phillies had multi-hit games (Schwarber, Harper, Bohm, Marsh).
TODAY’S START:
- Sweet Victory: In his last outing, Sánchez earned his 2nd win of the season and the 4th in his career as a starter … He is currently on a 2-game win streak, which is tied for the longest win streak of his career Watch Me WHIP: Since being recalled on 6/17, Sánchez’s 0.97 WHIP is the tied for 2nd in the major leagues (min. 60.0 IP) Walk the Line: Sánchez ranks in the 96th percentile in walk % and his 1.54 BB/9.0 IP is the 4th in the NL (min. 60.0 IP) … Sánchez has only issued 12 walks in his first 13 starts this season … There has been 12 other Phillies to do so since 1901 and only 3 since 2000 … Aaron Nola (2022), Zach Eflin (2021) and Cliff Lee (2014) Left In Charge: Sánchez has held left-handers to a .159 AVG (7-44) this season, which ranks 14th in the NL (min. 45 batters faced) …Against his last 27 lefties faced (since 7/14), he has held them to a .080 AVG (2-25) … Among LHP with at least 10 starts this year, Sánchez’s 3.33 ERA ranks 9th in MLB Change It Up: Per Statcast, Sánchez has struck out 32 batters with his changeup this season and has recorded a 35.7% whiff % with it, up from a 29.8% whiff % in 2022 … His downward movement of 43.2 inches (with gravity) on his changeup is the best in baseball, his average exit velocity against it (78.1 mph) is the 3rd best in MLB and his OPP AVG of .161 against it is 13th (min. 200 changeups thrown) …He has collected 60 swings and misses on his changeup this year, which is the 15th most in the NL Reach for the Stars: Per Statcast, Sánchez’s average release extension (where the ball is released relative to the rubber) of 6.9 feet puts him in the 89th percentile among all ML pitchers … As a result, his sinker velocity, which averages at 91.9 mph, has a perceived velocity of 92.9 mph vs AL West: 0-0, 0.00 ERA (5.1 IP) in 2 games (1 starts) Pitch Usage: Sinker (46.9%), Changeup (30.6%), Slider (22.5%)
HOME:
- 2023: 2-3, 4.20 ERA (23 ER, 49.1 IP) in 9 starts
- Career: 4-4, 4.29 ERA (38 ER, 79.2 IP) in 22 games (13 starts)
2023 Season:
- Work Horse: On 8/11, Sánchez set a new career-high for pitches in s game with 107, surpassing his previous high of 92 set on 7/24 … It is tied for the 7th most pitches in a game by a Phillie this year … He has thrown 1055 pitches this season, eclipsing his total of 662 in 2022 Carried a no-hitter through five innings before being pulled from the game on 7/30 … It was the longest no-hit bid in his career On 7/24, Sánchez tossed 7.0 IP for the first time in his ML career and
set a career-high in strikeouts (8) Was recalled from Lehigh Valley (AAA) prior to his start on 6/17 at OAK … Sánchez is in his 2nd stint with the Phillies this season … He was reinstated from the 15-day IL (left triceps strain) prior to his start on 4/22 and was optioned postgame
