Freeway Series: Dodgers and Angels tangle in brief interleague matchup

Every year the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels meet in the freeway series and that begins this year with a two-game series in Anaheim.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels will meet at Angel Stadium on June 10th and 11th in a brief two-game inter-league series matchup to kick start 2019’s Freeway Series.

The matchup will include two of the best players this season in Cody Bellinger for the Dodgers, and Mike Trout for the Angels. Each player is the leading MVP candidate in their respective league.

However, it is the Dodgers who are trending up, winning two of their last three, while the Angels are trending down, losing two of their last three this weekend. Let’s take a brief look at who has the advantage in this matchup.

1. Hitting

Each team has had no problem driving in runs as the Dodgers have a National League Leading 349 runs while the Angels have driven in 334 runs. Bellinger has driven in a team-high 54 runs while Trout has driven in 42.

The Dodgers have five hitters including Bellinger with 30+ RBI while the Angels have 4 with 30+ RBI’s. The Dodgers average just about 5.3 runs per game and the Angels a little over 5.0 runs per game. Scoring should be no problem for each team, at least on paper, in the Freeway Series.

Advantage: Even

2. Pitching

Dodger pitching has been immaculate this season. They have allowed only 240 runs for the whole season. This is due to the fact that they have a remarkable pitching rotation. They are led by Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is 9-1 this season and has a terrific 1.35 ERA.

In fact, their out of their whole starting rotation, which includes big names like Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, and Walker Buehler, none of them have an ERA over 3.50.

Additionally, four of their six regular starters have at least five wins as well. They also have one of the most reliable and consistent closers in the game in Kenley Jansen, who has 19 saves.

Angel pitching, on the other hand, has been nothing short of a disaster this season. They have allowed 339 runs on the year this season. Furthermore, their best starter this season has been rookie Griffin Canning, who has a 3.52 ERA.

Their other rotation names, Andrew Heaney, Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Cahill, and Matt Harvey, have ERA’s ranging from 4.97 to 7.50, which is horrendous. The Angels’ rotation is put together like duct tape and simply have a hard time not yielding runs.

No starter has more than five victories due to the bullpen blowing numerous leads. Their closer by rotation at the moment is Hansel Robles, with seven saves and he has been an okay option.

Advantage: Dodgers

3. Managing

Dave Roberts has been one of the best managers that baseball has to offer. He has made the World Series the last two years but has fallen short of winning the chip both times. However, he has shown in the last couple of years managing the Dodgers that he knows how to win in the regular season.

Dave knows his players and matchups along with having knowledge when to give his veterans off a day or two for rest. He seems poised to lead them to another NL West crown as they lead the league along with the Astros with 45 wins.

Brad Ausmus is in his first year of managing for the Angels after longtime manager Mike Scioscia was let go after last season. Ausmus has done an okay job so far as he has the club at a 31-35 record in his first season.

The Angels are not too far out of the wild card race as they are within a couple of games. However, to get there, Ausmus will need to show he can make the right matchups in order to bring the Angels back to the playoff landscape. That is something easier said than done and we will see that in the Freeway Series.

Advantage: Dodgers

4. Star vs Star

Cody Bellinger has been the leading candidate for the National League MVP so far. Even though he slumped in the Giants series, he still has an impressive triple slash line of .355/.449/.693.

Bellinger also has 20 home runs to go along with 54 RBI’s and seven stolen bases. His OPS is a whopping 1.154. The Dodgers boast a bunch of talent in both their youngsters and their veterans. However, none of their stars has shined as bright as Bellinger’s in his breakout season.

Mike Trout has been nothing but sensational ever since he walked into the MLB. The two time AL MVP has been pretty consistent this year boasting a triple slash of .296/.469/.626. Trout also has hit 17 home runs, driven in 42 runs and has seven stolen bases.

His OPS is a bit under Bellinger’s at 1.096. The Angels have a good complement of players on their team ranging from the versatile Andrelton Simmons to the unheralded breakout season of one time Cub Tommy La Stella. However, none of them is the star Mike Trout has been ever since he has come into the league.

Advantage: Angels

The Dodgers and Angels can both score runs at an impressive clip. However, Dodger pitching has been more consistent at yielding fewer runs than Angel pitching. Furthermore, having a manager that knows how to manage players and how to play matchups yields quite an advantage.

Each team both has individual stars that can contribute massively to the outcome of the game. Though the home team has the more consistent and driven superstar the game has to offer, the road team is simply too talented in the most important parts of baseball.

Looks like the Dodgers have the edge in the 2019 Freeway Series. Tune in Monday and Tuesday for games at Angel Stadium before the two teams meet again at Dodger Stadium in late July.