Series Preview: Guardians vs. Angels

It’s the Guardian Angel series again, so everyone should be able to stay safe this weekend

The Guardians will take on the Angels in a three-game series in Anaheim this weekend.

The Guardians enter the series at 33-17 with a +65 run differential, with a team wRC+ of 102, good for 11th in MLB, 11th in Baserunning Runs Above Average at 0.2, seventh in MLB at 4.0 Defensive WAR, 26th in starter FIP at 4.47, and first in bullpen FIP at 2.74.

The Angels are 20-30 with a -28 run differential, and 13th in MLB with 100 wRC+, 25th at -3.6 Baserunning Runs Above Average, and 28th in Defensive WAR at -20.3, 20th in starter FIP at 4.20, and 28th in bullpen FIP at 4.56. The Angels are 5-5 in their last 10 games and the Guardians are 9-1.

Matchups:

Game 1: Logan Allen, LHP (4.79 FIP) vs. Patrick Sandoval, LHP (3.06 FIP), 9:38PM EST, Friday, May 24th

Analysis: Well, we should get a heavy dose of David Fry this series as Fry has a 280 wRC+ vs. LHP in 2024, and also a good, early sample of Johnathan Rodriguez’s abilities against lefties (OPS over .900 against them in the minors). Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor both have 143 wRC+’s vs. LHP and Tyler Freeman has a 125 wRC+ against southpaws. Kevin Pillar, Zach Neto, Jo Adell, Luis Rengifo, Miguel Sano, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward have all been destroying LHP, so those will be matchups to watch in game 1. Allen has been nails his last couple times out, so hopefully he shows he’s found a good rhythm in this one.

Game 2: Tanner Bibee, RHP (3.76 FIP) vs. Jose Soriano, RHP (4.09 FIP), 9:38PM EST, Saturday, May 25th

Analysis: Against RHP, David Fry has a 138 wRC+, Josh Naylor has a 128 wRC+, Jose Ramirez has a 116 wRC+ and Andres Gimenez has a 105 wRC+ in 2024. We will see if the Guardians can make an adjustment against Soriano who dominated them his last time out. If you listened to a pod I did this offseason, I called Soriano as a breakout candidate - in the bullpen. This excellence as a starter is a bit of a bummer when my favorite team plays him. But, Bibee is coming off a particularly excellent start vs. the Twins, so hopefully, he will follow that up with another good outing.

Game 3: Ben Lively, RHP (4.14 FIP) vs. Reid Detmers, LHP (4.22 FIP), 4:07PM EST, Sunday, May 26th

Analysis: For the Angels, Pillar has been killing it with a 244 wRC+, Rengifo is at 134 wRC+, Adell is at 122 wRC+, Willie Calhoun is at 122 wRC+, and Ward is at 121 wRC+.

This is a good series to pay attention to potential trade candidates (Ward, Sandoval, perhaps Adell?) and to see if the Guardians can maintain their edge while leaving the confines of Progressive Field and playing a couple of bad teams on the road, in the Angels and, next, the Rockies.