Editorial by: Graydon Fox

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Overview:

On Sunday, April 29^th, the (14-9) New York Yankees will be on the road to take on the (16-9) Los Angeles Angels.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Yankees 5.3 – Angles 4.0 with an over/under of 9.3.

Starting Pitchers:

NYY: C.C. Sabathia (1-0, 1.86) vs LAA: Tyler Skaggs (3-1, 2.96)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Yankees 6.17 (1^st) > Angels 5.00 (10^th)

Batting Average: Yankees .266 (6^th) > Angels .251 (10^th)

On Base Percentage: Yankees .355 (1^st) > Angels .313 (17^th)

Total Bases: Yankees 383 (2^nd) > Angels 371 (4^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Angels 13 (12^th) > Yankees 10 (19^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Yankees 3.97 (12^th) > Angels 4.16 (17^th)

Batting Average Against: Yankees .227 (7^th) > Angels .246 (16^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Yankees 1.26 (12^th) > Angels 1.38 (20^th)

Strikeouts: Yankees 240 (4^th) > Angels 232 (7^th)

Saves: Angels 10 (5^th) > Yankees 4 (22^nd)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Angels 8 (2^nd) > Yankees 22 (29^th)

Summary:

The Yankees lead the in the league in runs per game (6.17) and rank 12^th in team earned run average (3.97).  The Yankees are currently riding a five-game winning streak and are (4-4) on the road this season.  Didi Gregorius (.372, 9 HR, 27 RBI) and Aaron Judge (.345, 7 HR, 17 RBI) are both off to hot starts.  Giancarlo Stanton (.226, 5 HR, 15 RBI) has struggled in the early going and his 37 strikeouts are the third highest in baseball.  The Yankees have yet to face Angels starter Tyler Skaggs (3-1, 2.96) but they have more than their share of quality right handed hitters to match-up.  Skaggs has dominated on the road but hasn’t pitched well at home (0-1, 8.00) in 2018.  The Yankees are a top ten team in nearly every hitting and pitching category but their defense has been poor this season.

The Angels rank 10^th in runs per game (5.00) and 17^th in team ERA (4.16).  The Angels are (4-6) in their last ten games but they are (5-7) on the road this season.  Mike Trout (.295, 10 HR, 18 RBI) leads the majors in home runs this season.  Shohei Ohtani has shocked the baseball world by dominating on the mound and at the plate (.333, 3 HR, 11 RBI).  The Angels built their team around defense and have committed the second fewest errors.  Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia (1-0, 1.86) has had success against the Angels holding them to a combined .228 average against in 123 at-bats.

Bottom Line:

The Yankees are red hot right now have averaging 8.6 runs per game during their five-game winning streak.  Tyler Skaggs has struggled at home and the Yankees have the right-handed power to give him trouble in the early portion of the game.  C.C. Sabathia has a proven track record against the Angels but will they play a clean game defensively behind him?  I expect the Yankees to score early and often off Skaggs and lock down the win with their dynamite bullpen.

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