New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels: Series Preview

After back-to-back tough losses against Minnesota on Thursday and Friday, the Yankees secured a series split by winning the final two games of a four-game set against the Twins. Backed by two strong pitching performances from Domingo Germán and Gerrit Cole, the Yankees will look to build off their momentum as the Los Angeles Angels come to town for a three-game series.

Boasting an 8-8 record, the Angels are coming off a sloppy series against the Boston Red Sox. Miscues in the field and on the bases plagued the Angels, who were able to bounce back and salvage the final game of the series with a 5-4 victory on Monday.

It is always a spectacle when the Angels come to the Bronx, as their team showcases two of the biggest stars in baseball: Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. With that said, let’s take a look at the probable starters for this upcoming series.

Tuesday: Clarke Schmidt vs. José Suarez (7:05 pm ET)

Schmidt has gotten off to a rough start this season. In three starts he has surrendered 10 earned runs in just 10.2 innings of work. With injuries to the starting rotation still lingering for the Yankees, the young right-hander will continue to get opportunities to prove his abilities as a starter.

Similar to Schmidt, Suarez has struggled in his two starts this season. His latest outing saw him give up 10 hits and four runs in just four innings of work. This followed a start against Seattle on April 4th where the lefty gave up seven runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings on the mound. The Angels are coming off a game on Monday that was riddled with rain delays and stoppages, forcing their bullpen into seven innings of work. With the Yankees off yesterday, look for each team’s bullpen to be a factor throughout this series.

Wednesday: Jhony Brito vs. Griffin Canning (7:05 pm ET)

After two fantastic starts to start his career, Brito was brought back to earth against the Minnesota Twins. Primarily a fastball/changeup pitcher, neither was working in his last outing, where he surrendered seven runs and didn’t make it out of the first inning. He will be looking to bounce back on Wednesday night.

Wednesday will be Canning’s second start of the season after missing all of 2022 with a back injury. The right-hander was solid in his first outing against the Nationals, completing five innings of work and giving up two runs. His last start was the first time he had been on a major league mound in 649 days.

Thursday: Nestor Cortes vs. Patrick Sandoval (4:05 pm ET)

The best pitching matchup of the three-game series presents itself on Thursday afternoon. Cortes has picked up right where he left off last season, posting a 2.60 ERA over three starts to begin the year. He is coming off his best outing on April 14th against the Twins where he pitched seven innings of two-run ball, which included seven strikeouts.

Sandoval is building off a career year in 2022 and has looked the part to start the 2023 season. He has only given up two earned runs in 14.2 innings pitched over his three starts. Sandoval’s last start saw him exit in the fourth inning, as walks and two throwing errors behind him derailed his outing, but I would expect another solid start from the lefty on Thursday.

Superstars will be all over the field this week. It should be a fun series at the stadium.