Series Preview: Los Angeles Angels vs. Washington Nationals (May 6, 2022 – May 8, 2022)

The Washington Nationals continue their road trip out west, heading over to their inter-league matchup, the Los Angeles Angels. They are coming off a series loss in Colorado despite outscoring them thanks to a blowout win on Tuesday. Let’s get into the projected pitching matchups for the series against the Angels. 

Friday, May 6, RHP Joan Adon (1-4 7.33 ERA) vs TBD | First Pitch: 9:38 PM ET

The Nationals start with a late one this weekend. This season, Joan Adon has struggled in four of his five starts, giving up four runs in less than five innings in all four of those games. While his ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA suggest he’s been a little unlucky, Adon seriously needs to cut down on his walk rate if he wants to see any success this season. He has plenty of time to figure things out, especially since he is only 23.

While the Angels have not announced an official starter, Sam Blum of the Athletic suggests that LHP Jhonathan Diaz is the Angels’ probable starter. Diaz, a soft throwing lefty, has been dominant in his four starts in Triple-A this season, posting a 1.96 ERA across 23 innings. He threw 13 innings in 2021 with one dominant game and then a mixed bag. 

The game will be televised on MASN2 and heard on 106.7, the Fan. 

▶️ Top plays: Washington Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies, May 5, 2022

Saturday, May 7, RHP Josiah Gray (3-2 3.12 ERA) vs. TBD | First Pitch: 9:07 ET

Second up for the Nats is Josiah Gray. Josiah Gray has massively improved from his 2021 campaign. This comes from cutting down his home run rate. Gray excels at getting whiffs, clear in his 10.73 K/9. Gray struggles to get batters to chase, though, so he walks 13% of his batters. 

His projected opponent is former two-way player Michael Lorenzen. The right-hander primarily throws a sinker and slider, but he mixes in a healthy amount of four-seam fastballs, changeups, and cutters. Lorenzen has had a lot of success early this season, getting lots of ground balls for an infield defense that is above average. He is not a big strikeout guy, nor does he have above-average control. Lorenzon is simply an average starter.

The game will be televised on MASN2 and heard on 106.7, the Fan.

Sunday, May 8, RHP Erick Fedde (2-2 4.68 ERA) vs TBD | First Pitch: 4:07 ET

Outside of his start against the Diamondbacks, Erick Fedde has had a great season. When removing that start, he has a 2.97 ERA in 21.2 innings. Hopefully, Fedde can continue this trend. Like the other young Nationals starters, he has not faced the Angels during his career. 

Patrick Sandoval has posted some of the better numbers in the American League this year. Of all starters with at least 20 innings pitched, Sandoval’s 1.29 ERA is tied for seventh in all of baseball. He is one of the more exciting young starters in the game, making this my game to watch this series. 

The game will be televised on MASN2 and heard on 106.7, the Fan.

Other Notes

• While it may be a stretch to get there, Shohei Ohtani is 3 home runs away from 100. 
• The Angels are 7-3 with a 17-10 record over their last ten. This gives them the lead in the AL West. They have scored the most runs in baseball. 
• Mike Trout is playing; something Nats fans do not get to see too often. 
• Dee Strange-Gordon is 1 stolen base away from tying Kip Selbach for 126th of all time. He leads all active players. 
• Josh Bell and Juan Soto have climbed up to sixth and eighth in OPS in the National League. The next best is Maikel Franco at 46th and a .720 OPS.