Yanks Go Yard Radio Show: Yankees-Angels (8/19-8/21)

On last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, we looked ahead to the weekend series between the Yankees and Angels

At the beginning of last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I gave my takeaways from the New York Yankees (61-59) losing two out of three games to the Toronto Blue Jays this week. Even though the bullpen had a meltdown on Tuesday and CC Sabathia’s struggles Wednesday, Chad Green struck out 11 in Monday night’s 1-0 win and Gary Sanchez hit three home runs in the final two games.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a six game road trip on the West Coast with a three game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (51-70). Back in June, the Yankees swept a four game series at home against the Angels by a combined score of 29-14.

Coming into tonight’s matchup, Mike Scoscia’s club has lost 12 of their last 14 games and they snapped an 11-game losing streak on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners. Los Angeles is 4-12 in the month of August after going 15-11 in July. That July record is the only month this year where the team has been above .500.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• MLB insider claims favorite emerging in Bryan Reynolds rumors (not Yankees)
• Michael Kay’s Anthony Volpe story will get Yankees fans amped for Opening Day
• No, Yankees should not acquire Trevor Bauer for 2023
• Yankees’ Marwin González replaces Red Sox LF in Japan in logical next step
• Blue Jays overpaying for Yankees trade target shows they’re trying too hard

On offense, Mike Trout is still having an MVP caliber season despite his team’s bad record. Trout is hitting .309 this season with 23 home runs, 77 RBI’s, has a .427 on-base percentage, and leads the American League in walks (94).

Trout and Albert Pujols (.249, 22 home runs, 95 RBI’s) are the only players on the team with over 20 home runs. While the Angels have scored the fifth most runs of any American League team since the All-Star Break, their 62 runs in the month of August are the third fewest in the AL.

Next: Should The Yankees Trade Gardner Or Ellsbury

As far as pitching goes, the Angels have the highest team ERA in August (6.09) and their starters ERA of 5.01 this season is the third highest in the AL. Plus, Los Angeles traded away one of their better starters at the deadline when they traded Hector Santiago to the Minnesota Twins.

Last night, my guest on the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show was David Rice, the co-editor of Halo Hangout. David gave his take on the Angels struggles and whether or not Trout should still be one of the frontrunners for MVP. Here are some of the other topics we discussed:

• Reasons behind the Angels recent 11-game losing streak
• Expectations for starter Tyler Skaggs in the second half
• Pitching Matchup Breakdown
• Jered Weaver (Tonight’s Angels starter) has a 5.45 ERA in his last six starts
• Masahiro Tanaka (Tonight’s Yankees starter) showed positives against the Rays despite giving up two home runs
• Impressions of Ricky Nolasco in Los Angeles (Saturday’s Angels starter)
• Luis Cessa making his first Major League start tomorrow night for the Yankees
• Jhoulys Chacin (Sunday’s Angels starter) hasn’t fared well as a starter in LA
• What stood out to me when watching Chad Green (Sunday’s Yankees starter) on Monday
• Yankees hitters to watch: Brian McCann and Aaron Judge
• Angels hitters to watch: Yunel Escobar and Nick Buss
• Will Scoscia still be the Angels manager in 2017?

 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE YANKS GO YARD RADIO SHOW!!!