submitted by austro!
Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma’am!
Los Angeles Angels of Anahem (83-53) @ Houston Astros (59-79)
After a nice, leisurely 3-1 series victory against the Rangers (suck it, bandwagoners!), the Astros host the Angels for a two-game quickie. One team is 30 games over .500, and the other is 20 games under: what could possibly go wrong? Whatever, it’s not Bo Porter’s problem anymore.
Tuesday, September 2, 7:10 CDT
C.J. Wilson (10-8, 4.46) vs Brad Peacock (3-8, 5.13)
Wilson is 1-0 with a 2.60 ERA in his last three starts despite giving up 17 hits and 11 walks in 17.1 innings. The Astros roughed him up on July 4, scoring 6 runs (on 3 homers) before knocking him out of the game in 4.1 innings. He had a couple of stinkers after that, too, but since then he has averaged almost 6 innings per game with a 3.34 ERA. The Astros have 118 plate appearances against him, so they have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to see. And Carter likes what he sees: he’s got a .364/.417/.727 line against Wilson with two homers and two doubles.
Peacock’s last two outings have been pretty good, although brief: 5.0 innings, 2 hits, and 1 earned run against Cleveland, and 5.1 innings, 4 hits, and 1 earned run against Oakland. Prior to that was one bad start, one good one, two bad ones, and a good one. So we’re probably due for a stinker. The fact that current Angels are a combined .302/.356/.491 in 59 plate appearances against Peacock isn’t particularly encouraging, especially since The Smirking Asshole is 2-5 with a double and a homer.
Wednesday, September 3, 7:10 CDT
Jered Weaver (15-7, 3.57) vs Collin McHugh (7-9, 2.99)
Jered Weaver has 15 wins? How did that happen? His worst start in August was a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox in which he gave up 7 hits and 4 earned runs. His other 5 starts have yielded 4 wins and a no-decision, with 32 hits and 10 runs (all earned) in 31 innings, so he seems to be on a roll. Current Astros have 59 plate appearances against him and have managed only a meager .164/.193/.345 line against him. Bleaaahhhh.
McHugh has been a very pleasant surprise this year. In his 21 starts, he has yielded 5 earned runs twice and 4 earned runs twice; everything else has been 3 earned runs or less. His August has been especially impressive: 8 earned runs on 37 hits in 37.2 innings, for a 1.99 ERA. Very nice work. His career numbers against current Angels are impressive, too: 62 plate appearances and a .185/.279/.259 line. The only blemish is, again, The Smirking Asshole, who is 3-7 with a homer and a walk against McHugh. Let’s hope nobody is on base when he comes up.
Injuries
Angels
The Angels have a whole bunch of pitchers on the DL, most of whom aren’t due back until next year (and one, Tyler Skaggs, who isn’t due back until 2016 because of Tommy John surgery a couple of weeks ago). The biggest loss, for both the Angels and one of my fantasy teams, is Garrett Richards, who did something that I still can’t describe when he went to cover first base on a ground ball, resulting in torn knee ligaments and an early end to the season. Joe Thatcher is the only pitcher who might be back this year; he sprained an ankle on August 23 and is just now starting to throw again.
Astros
There are seven Astros on the DL. Albers and Crain are apparently both throwing now, but I don’t expect to see either make an appearance this season. Cisnero and Zeid are out until next season. Presley and Downs are now on rehab assignments and should return to the team soon. And, of course, Springer, who has seemingly been on the verge of returning for a couple of weeks now. Gonzalez apparently has a tender hammie and hasn’t played in a few days. Evidently it’s not enough to merit a trip to the DL, and I suspect that management is happy enough to have the opportunity to get an extended look at Petit.
Promotions/Giveaways
You’re kidding, right? You’ll get to watch Altuve, and you’ll like it. You’ll get a Coca-Cola Value night on Wednesday as a bonus. And I imagine that there is still some Ziegenbock available.