Media by Associated Press – New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 26, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The New York Yankees (34-15) opened their series against the Los Angeles Angels (27-23) with a convincing win on Monday to end a modest two-game win streak.
The Angels have lost six in a row, five against AL East teams, heading into Wednesday night’s contest. The first game of June for both teams starts at 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium, airing on FS1.
Tuesday’s series opener was the first of six games between the teams this season. Last year the Angels won the season series 4-3 with a 2-1 mark in New York. The teams didn’t play in 2020, and the Yankees went 2-1 at home in 2019 against the Angels.
Angels Struggling to End May
After a great start to the month, keeping pace with the Houston Astros in the AL West, the Angels are 3-8 over their last 11 games and 0-6 since winning three straight over Oakland and Texas. They are 12-10 on the road this season, 8-7 against LHP, and 5-9 against the AL East. The Angels are 7-5 as the underdog this season and batting .251 as a team.
In Tuesday’s loss, the Angels picked up seven hits, with five singles. Luis Rengifo accounted for the only run with a solo home run, while Shohei Otani had a double, and his potential home run was robbed by Aaron Judge. Jared Walsh was the only player with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
Taylor Ward is the Angels’ leadoff batter, hitting a team-high .347, with Mike Trout batting .302. Trout also leads the team with 13 homers, joining Ward, Ohtani, and Walsh with having at least ten home runs. Ohtani leads the team with 32 RBI but is batting .249, while Walsh has 29 RBI, one more than Trout.
LHP Reid Detmers (2-2, 4.65) takes the mound on Wednesday for his first-ever outing against the Yankees. The 22-year-old threw a no-hitter against Tampa Bay on May 10 but is 0-1 with a ERA of 7.45 in two starts since. He allowed two home runs in both of those starts.
In his last start on Wednesday, he allowed five runs on five hits over six innings in a loss to Texas. Detmers has allowed 11 runs on 13 hits over 11 ⅔ innings in his last three road starts.
Cortes Dealing for Yankees
The Yankees have come back to the pack a little, but over the last two weeks with a 5-5 record in their last ten games. They are 18-7 at home and 11-5 against LHP on the season. New York is 3-1 against the AL West, and they are just 22-23 covering the run line as the favorites.
New York jumped all over Noah Syndergaard on Tuesday with four runs in the first, capped by a Matt Carpenter home run. Jose Trevino also homered and had three hits, while Joey Gallo, Gleyber Torres, and DJ LeMahieu posted two hits each. The Yankees finished with six extra-base hits in the win.
Judge leads the Yankees with a .303 average, 18 home runs, and 38 RBI. Giancarlo Stanton is still on the IL, but LeMahieu is 4-for-12 since returning to the lineup, and Torres has 24 RBI. Anthony Rizzo has 11 home runs and 29 RBI on the season with ten doubles, one less than LeMahieu.
LHP Nestor Cortes (4-1, 1.70) has been the Yankees’ best starter this season. He has won three straight outings and has gone at least five innings in six of his last seven starts. Cortes has 30 strikeouts in his last 28 innings and has only allowed more than two runs on one occasion this season.
Cortes has only faced the Angels as a reliever in his career. Max Stassi is 3-for-3 with two homers against the left, and Taylor Ward is 1-for-3. The other Angels he has faced are a combined 0-for-8, with both Ohtani and Trout going 0-for-3.
Betting Analysis
- Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (-130. Moneyline +145
- New York Yankees -1.5 (+110) Moneyline -165
- Total Runs: 8.5 Over -105, Under -115
Detmers hasn’t been very good since his no-hitter, and the young lefty takes the big stage at Yankee Stadium on national TV. New York’s offense has been power-heavy all season, and they have their best pitcher on the mound. Even without Aroldis Chapman to lock down the game, the Yankees should claim the series on Wednesday.
Betting Pick: Yankees -1.5 (+110)
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