Angels ride high-octane offense into series opener vs. Marlins

The Los Angeles Angels will host the Miami Marlins on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif., riding a seven-game winning streak, their longest since the end of the 2022 season.

The offense has been the primary factor in the Angels’ recent success. The team averaged 6.8 runs per game during the just-concluded 10-game road trip, in which the Angels went 8-2.

Taylor Ward and Logan O’Hoppe have provided the lion’s share of the power, each going deep in Thursday’s 10-5 win over the Athletics. The two are tied for the team lead with 14 homers this season.

First baseman Nolan Schanuel leads the club with 45 hits and a .372 on-base percentage but has just three homers, which has resulted in a slight change to his approach at the plate.

“The first year to last year, I was looking at what pitch I can get a hit on,” Schanuel said. “It wasn’t, ‘What pitch can I do damage with?’ And that’s kind of where my mentality has changed from last year to this year.”

Schanuel said about three weeks ago that Angels hitting coach Johnny Washington and coaches Tim Laker and Jayson Nix came to him and suggested an adjustment.

“In the past, I was more of a location guy,” Schanuel said. “If it was a certain location, didn’t matter the pitch, I was gonna go.”

Now, Schanuel not only is focusing on location, but also the type of pitch.

“I’m hunting mistakes, honestly,” he said.

Los Angeles left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 3.50 ERA) will look for his first victory when he makes his 11th start this season on Friday. He’s coming off his fourth straight no-decision after allowing one run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings in his team’s 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

Kikuchi has made one career start against Miami, resulting in a no-decision despite posting six scoreless innings in 2023.

Right-hander Sandy Alcantara (2-6, 7.99 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season for Miami having lost six consecutive decisions.

Alcantara has made one career start against the Angels, getting a victory after scattering two hits over eight scoreless innings in 2022.

The Marlins have three catchers on the active roster, including rookies Liam Hicks and Agustin Ramirez, who have joined Nick Fortes, the club’s Opening Day starter.

Fortes got off to a hot start this season at the plate, hitting .300 with an .833 OPS in seven games, before an oblique strain landed him on the injured list on April 10. When he returned on May 4, he found himself splitting playing time with the rookies.

As a result, he said, he began putting pressure on himself to perform when he did get opportunities. He’s hitting .130 with a .428 OPS in 10 games since his return.

“It’s not easy, and I’ve definitely fallen victim to that quite a bit,” Fortes said. “It’s self-inflicted, but just continuing to just tell myself that I’m good no matter what happens. … So, it’s just about just taking my hands off the wheel and just trusting whatever happens, happens.”

–Field Level Media