Angels Open Road Trip Behind Ryan Johnson Against Pirates

The Los Angeles Angels hit the road tonight after a rough homestand, and they’re hoping to turn things around tonight against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A series win would represent a significant turnaround for the Halos, as they’ve won just once in their last ten tries. They’ll send Ryan Johnson to the hill against Jared Jones for the Pirates to try to get it done. 

Evaluating the Angels prospects in any game is a three-pronged affair. Their starting pitching was brilliant in August, with lefty Reid Detmers duplicating that feat in their last game on Wednesday night against the New York Yankees, although the Halos did wind up losing that one, 6-3, in ten innings. 

Johnson has been on the plus side of the starters’ recent run, mostly.  He’s still finding himself after a tough start, but he’s given up just five earned runs in his last five starts, including a one-hit, seven inning shutout effort against the Texas Rangers back on Aug. 22. 

The right-hander’s bugaboos at the moment are walks and length, and these two things go together. Johnson’s last start was against the Philadelphia Phillies in Anaheim, and he had to pull a series of Houdini acts to get out of that one with just a single run allowed in five innings as he walked five and gave up two hits along the way. 

The Pirates represent a strong candidate for Johnson to continue his string of strong appearances, as their lineup can be very hit and miss, but the fly in the ointment is the Angels bullpen, which has been awful for much of the season. 

Closer Ben Joyce showed signs of stabilizing things when he finally made it back from surgery, but lately things have been chaos from the sixth inning on. None of the current relievers will be in Anaheim next season after the recent sale of the team, save for Joyce, and it’s hard to see this getting better. 

The Angels lineup is another problem. They’ve scored more than three runs just once in their last 12 games, so tight pitchers duels are a staple if the starters come out strong. Most of the hitters are Triple-A level aside from Zach Neto and Mike Trout, so shutdowns are inevitable. 

The Pirates are currently three games under .500, and they’ve been laying well lately as they try to climb back into the NL wild-card race. They’re currently five games out, and the Angels represent a juicy opportunity to continue their recent upward trend.