Red Sox Head West To Challenge Angels In Tuesday Baseball Action

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:00

Heading into the 2010 season, the Los Angeles Angels were expected to be one of the best teams in baseball but they got off to a very poor start and have been trying to claw their way back into contention ever since. The Boston Red Sox, meanwhile, started the season in good form only to see the two best teams in baseball—the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays—shoot ahead of them in the AL East standings. These two teams will meet in Tuesday night action with both hoping to establish some momentum for the stretch run.

The Red Sox have been able to stay in sight of the high flying Yankees and Rays thanks to a strong showing at Fenway Park. They’ve managed to stay above .500 on the road, but they’re a much more formidable opponent on their home field. The Angels have finally pulled several games over .500, but they’re still trying to close a sizable gap between them and the AL West leading Texas Rangers. The Halo’s have had difficulty maintaining positive momentum, and clearly need a long winning streak if they’re to have any hope of running down the Rangers for the division crown.

Pitching has been a weakness of both teams in the 2010 season. Boston’s starting rotation wasn’t expected to be anywhere near dominant, but they’ve actually outperformed the Angels’ rotation that is considered to be better ‘on paper’. Both teams are in the lower half of the AL team pitching rankings, so any statistical superiority for the Red Sox in this category is marginal at best. The bullpens haven’t been much help either, with both sides checking in with ERA’s in the mid to high 4.00 range.

The Red Sox do have a solid edge offensively—they lead the American League in runs scored and rank 4th in team batting average. The Angels have done a decent job scoring runs (ranking 5th in the league) but are in the lower echelons of team batting average. Worth noting that the Angels have been very profitable in matchups against right handed starters, and with only one quality southpaw in the Red Sox rotation (Jon Lester) the series shapes up nicely for the home team.

Boston swept a four game series at home earlier this year, but with the Red Sox only able to tread water on the road it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to continue that dominance here. With both teams demonstrating clear home/away tendencies a more likely scenario is for the Angels to gain a measure of revenge for their earlier losses to the Red Sox with a victory in this game and in the series as a whole.

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Red Sox Head West To Challenge Angels In Tuesday Baseball Action

Red Sox Head West To Challenge Angels In Tuesday Baseball Action

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