The American League West-leading Oakland Athletics continue their four-game road series against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, May 19, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim following recent defensive struggles for both clubs.
Oakland holds a one-game advantage over the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners despite possessing a 23-23 record and a negative-13 run differential, according to CBS Sports. The Angels enter the matchup at the bottom of the division with a 17-31 record after dropping six consecutive games and being outscored 31-3 in a weekend series sweep.
The pitching matchup features Athletics left-handed pitcher Jacob Lopez, who carries a 3-2 record with a 5.80 ERA, squaring off against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, who holds a 1-4 record and a 4.20 ERA, as reported by Athletics Nation. Offensively, Oakland relies on hot-hitting catcher Shea Langeliers, who posted a .324/.431/.659 slash line in May, and rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz, who enters the night with a 41-game on-base streak, according to SI.com.
The Angels counter with veteran slugger Jorge Soler and shortstop Zach Neto alongside three-time American League MVP Mike Trout, who possesses a lifetime .291 batting average with 42 home runs against the Athletics. Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki expressed optimism about his squad breaking out of an offensive slump that has seen them score two runs or fewer in 17 of their last 26 games.
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“Last six games, two runs or less,” said Suzuki, Los Angeles Angels manager. “They’re still getting their work in and that’s all that you can do. I’ve played this game a long time and have gone through some ruts. You wish you had a simple answer but there really isn’t a simple answer. You continue to do your work and there’s going to be one thing that’s going to click, and everybody’s going to start hitting, and they’re going to be like ‘Wow, that is six games in a row you scored eight or more runs.’
The Angels skipper hopes for a quick turnaround as his team aims to improve on its MLB-ranking ties of 27th in batting average and 26th in runs scored.
“Hopefully that time comes soon,” Suzuki said.
Athletics manager Mark Kotsay emphasized the need for clean defensive play after his team committed five errors during back-to-back losses to the San Francisco Giants prior to the series opener.
“We’ve got to get back to work,” said Kotsay, Oakland Athletics manager. “We turn the page on this game today. It’s tough to win games when you give teams extra at-bats, when you give away outs, when you don’t execute and put stress on the pitching staff, and then it snowballs. And that’s exactly what happened this homestand. We need to play good, clean baseball and the results will take care of themselves.”
The standard television broadcast for the evening matchup is scheduled across NBCS-CA and MLB.TV platforms.