Ricky Nolasco (4-10, 5.13 ERA) and the Los Angeles Angels (51-71) meet Luis Cessa (2-0, 5.30 ERA) and the New York Yankees (62-59) in the second of a three-game series at Angel Stadium. The Yankees won the last game 7-0, and New York leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 9:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20 and will air on FSW and WPIX.
In his most recent outing, Nolasco pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three runs, striking out three and walking three in a 3-2 loss to the Mariners. Mike Trout (.310, 94 Rs, 23 HRs, 77 RBIs, 20 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 4. The Yankees were also unsuccessful the last time Cessa pitched. He struggled, going 3.0 innings, allowing five runs, striking out two and walking one in a 12-3 loss to the Rays. Didi Gregorius (.285, 52 Rs, 17 HRs, 56 RBIs, 5 SBs) has been doing well, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and two RBIs.
Los Angeles is a -122 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at nine runs. The Angels are 26-23 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -2,064. Los Angeles has been struggling as of late. In the last 10 games, Los Angeles has only averaged 3.1 runs per game compared to the 4.5 it’s averaged on the season. Los Angeles’s pitching staff has fallen apart in the past 10 games. Its average runs allowed per game rose to 6.4 during that span, compared to its 4.8 season average.
Switching gears, the Yankees come into this game with a weak win percentage of .389 when playing as the underdog (21-33) and an overall money line of -169. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the New York batters, who rank fourth in the AL with 7.2 strikeouts per game. Shifting to the pitching staff, they allow just 2.6 walks per game, the best in the AL.
The Yankees are 5-0 against the Angels this season. This game will feature Cessa (RHP) on the mound against the Angels, who have a 35-54 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Yankees will be the right-hander Nolasco. They sport a 45-39 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYY, O/U – Over
Notes
LA Angels are 2-13 SU in their last 15 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Angels’s last 7 games.
LA Angels are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games at home.
LA Angels are 12-6 SU in their last 18 games at home.
LA Angels are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Yankees.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Angels’s last 9 games when playing NY Yankees.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of LA Angels’s last 7 games when playing at home against NY Yankees.
After last game’s shutout win against Los Angeles, the Yankees now have seven shutouts this season. The Angels have been shut out in four games this season.
The Angels didn’t score any runs in their last game. The Yankees have a 7-0 record when they don’t allow any runs.
When they are outhit, the Angels are 7-55. The Yankees have a 12-48 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, Los Angeles ranks 25th with 117 homers and New York is 21st with 133.
Ranking 13th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.45 per game. Los Angeles ranks in the top 10 at eighth with 8.86.
Ranking 22nd, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.716). Los Angeles ranks in the bottom half at 20th with an OPS of .733.
The Yankees are 36-48 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Angels are 28-57 when they allow at least one homer.
