In what could be a World Series preview, the Angels host the Dodgers in the second installment of their 2009 Freeway Series, this set at the Big A in Anaheim.
The Dodgers and Angels meet in the Freeway Series tonight in Anaheim and you can expect runs to be at a premium.
The Dodgers have won four of their last five games to improve to 44-23 on the year. They’ve got a nine-game lead over the second place Giants and have not missed a beat without the suspended Manny Ramirez. They’ve been playing the Joe Torre brand of baseball: a combination of strong starting pitching, a great bullpen and timely hitting.
Since getting chewed out by manager Mike Scoscia after a less than stellar performance in Tampa, the Angels have responded with six straight wins. Howie Kendrick was sent down to the minors, rookie sensation Sean Rodgriguez was called up and Vlad Guerrero returned to the line-up after missing a substantial amount of time with a torn peck muscle. All three of those moves have paid off handsomely for the Angels who are starting to look like the best of the AL West.
Chad Billingsley is 9-3 with a 2,72 ERA and he’ll be looking to make amends for his loss in May in which the Angels tagged hime for five runs in what turned out to be a 10-7 loss. Joe Saunders is 7-4 with a 3.66 ERA and continues to be the best lefthander in baseball that nobody knows. In three full seasons and part of another, he’s 39-19 and as dependable as it gets. He came within two outs of a complete game against San Diego last weekend, rebounding from back-to-back rough outings.
It’s tough to know which stats or trends are relevant given the turnover in personnel from one year to the next. For what it’s worth the Halo’s are 12-5 in their last 17 meetings against the Dodgers and 7-1 in Anaheim. Couple that with the Angels' current six-game winning streak and there’s certainly several reasons to like the Angels in this spot.
The Dodgers will be looking to avenge a series loss to their Interstate 5 rivals in May, but given LA’s dismal interleague road record of 14-37, that could prove to be a tough task. The Dodgers have a huge pitching advantage over the Angels. Torre’s staff is No. 1 in the majors while the bullpen is No. 4. The Halos have the worst bullpen in baseball and overall their pitching staff ranks 25th.
This very well could be a preview of the Fall Classic, and like most any playoff game it’s pitching and defense that wins. The Dodgers have an edge in both. If you're an Angels fan you can only hope Saunders throws a complete game gem, because a trip to the bullpen is like taking trip to nearby Disneyland for one of those E-ticket rides.
The keys to the game: If the Dodgers get to the Angels' bullpen they’ll probably win. If the Angels keep up their recent offensive surge (47 runs in their last six games) they should pick up the W. Either way the opener of the Freeway Series is shaping up as one of the top games of this Interleague weekend.