Angels at Yankees
The New York Yankees' string of eight straight series wins finally came to an end as the prolific offense could not survive a rare letdown from the pitching staff. The Yankees will try to keep the bats hot and turn the staff around when they host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
New York tied a major league record with a total of 21 home runs in a five-game span by bashing four more in Wednesday's 12-10 loss at Texas, and rookie infielder Gleyber Torres is highlighting the power surge with four homers in the last three contests. "When I go to home plate, I just try to put the ball in play, try to take good at-bats," Torres told reporters. "The home runs are happening, but I never try to hit home runs." The Yankees totaled 17 runs in a three-game sweep at Los Angeles from April 27-29, but the Angels are coming in hot with three wins in their last four games. Los Angeles will try to capture Friday's series opener behind left-hander Andrew Heaney, while New York counters with ace right-hander Luis Severino.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS West (Los Angeles), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Andrew Heaney (2-3, 3.35 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Luis Severino (7-1, 2.35)
Heaney allowed a total of five earned runs over his last five starts but is coming off a loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday in which he issued five walks over six innings and was charged with four unearned runs. The 26-year-old struck out seven batters in that outing and owns 46 strikeouts in 40 1/3 total frames. Heaney struck out nine while yielding two runs - one earned - across five innings against the Yankees on April 27 but settled for a no decision.
Severino notched his seventh consecutive quality start at Kansas City on Saturday, scattering three runs and eight hits over six innings to earn the win. The eight hits allowed matched a season high for the Dominican Republic native, who yielded a total of three earned runs in his previous three outings. Severino went up against Heaney on April 27 and also settled for a no decision while surrendering three runs and five hits in seven frames.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Yankees have hit three or more home runs in five straight games for the first time in franchise history.
2. Los Angeles rookie RHP Shohei Ohtani will not make his scheduled start on Sunday in an effort to manage his workload but will be available to hit during the series.
3. New York RHP David Robertson allowed a total of six runs in 3 2/3 innings across his last four appearances.