The Los Angeles Angels’ most notable feel-good moment during their series against the Orioles came with the return of interim manager Phil Nevin and his on-field meeting with his son, Tyler, who happens to be an infielder for Baltimore.
Aside from that, the Orioles have been consuming any other good vibes, taking a seven-game winning streak into Sunday’s series finale in Baltimore.
And now the team’s fans are really getting behind the Orioles to create an impactful atmosphere.
“Great environments, they were into it,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “That was a lot of fun.”
The Angels are 1-7 on a three-city road trip that wraps up on Sunday. Perhaps there will at least be some sense of normalcy now, as Nevin returned Saturday following a 10-game suspension stemming from a June 26 brawl between the Angels and Seattle Mariners.
“I’m excited to be with our guys for an entire day,” Phil Nevin said. “It has been tough. It felt like a month, really. It’s over with and done, and it’s behind us.”
However, his son’s team keeps getting the best of his club, and Tyler went 1-for-2 in Baltimore’s most recent win before he was lifted for a pinch runner following a seventh-inning walk.
The Orioles are currently riding their longest winning streak since August 2017.
Baltimore has won five of six meetings with the Angels this season. Four of those contests have had one-run margins, another was decided by two, and Thursday’s series opener was a 4-1 final in the Orioles’ favor.
Los Angeles has scored a total of five runs in the first three games of the series, and it has been hampered by blunders on the basepaths.
“Against teams like this, playing this well and the pitching staff they’ve got, you can’t make those mistakes,” Phil Nevin said.
Production from the bottom of the order has also been a concern, as the Angels got all four of their runs from Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on Friday. Trout had a three-run homer, and Ohtani added a solo shot.
“It’s hard to just lean on the top of the order every time,” Phil Nevin said.
The Angels turn to left-hander Jose Suarez (1-2, 4.30 ERA) to try and get back on track. He has allowed a total of three runs across his past three appearances. In his last two outings covering 10 2/3 innings, he has struck out 12 without issuing a walk.
Suarez has a 5.19 ERA without a decision in two all-time outings vs. the Orioles. He allowed a three-run home run to Trey Mancini in April’s meeting, when he lasted 4 1/3 innings and surrendered three runs.
Right-hander Austin Voth (0-1, 7.20), who has thrown two hitless innings in his career vs. the Angels, will get the start for Baltimore.
He has been inconsistent since he was acquired from the Washington Nationals, but the Orioles have won four of the last five games in which he has pitched.
–Field Level Media
