Capital_Dave

Not a lot going on for the Angels in this one. The Royals lose their first two pitchers of the game to multi-week injury within the first three innings, but the KC bullpen steps up and the Angels sputter to a 5-3 loss. Hunter Dozier with a big day at the plate for the Royals, going 3-for-4 with a triple and a homer. The worst-performing pitcher for the Royals (Greg Holland, 1IP, 3H, 1BB, 2ER) gets the win because wins are dumb.

The Angels started their road trip very successfully in Kansas City. Julio Teheran had a terrific start, giving up just 2 ER in 7 innings. Andrelton Simmons led the offense, going 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored, and the Angels walloped the Royals, 11-5. The Angels now have three regulars (Trout, Rendon, Simmons) hitting above .310 on the season.

DRIVE HOME SAFELY. Heaney goes down with injury in the second inning (pretty realistic) but will only be out for 15 games (not at all realistic). Cam Bedrosian comes in with a tie score in the ninth (!) and holds the line. The Angels then load the bases in the bottom of the ninth when Andrelton Simmons hits a walk-off single to score Mike Trout from third. Angels win the game and the series, 2-1. Gold stars for the Angels relievers who combine for 7.1 innings of shutout, four-hit ball. Shohei Ohtani gets his fifth homer of the year to account for the other run.

Might be a bit of a closer controversy brewing in Anaheim, eh @Jeff Fletcher? Hansel Robles has yet another shaky outing, as he comes in in the top of the ninth to hold a 4-4 tie but a walk to Robbie Grossman , a balk to move Grossman to second, and an RBI double for Matt Chapman give the A's the go-ahead run. Robles' ERA is up to 4.70. The A's go on to win 5-4. Trout gets a rare day off (though he does come in to pinch hit for Jason Castro late, delivering a single).

Angels explode for 8 runs over the first two innings, chasing Sean Manaea who had been stellar so far this season (he now has a 2.92 ERA after giving up 8 ERs to the Angels in today's game... you do the math). Matt Andriese continues to be a Strat-o-matic darling, earning his sixth win of the season after going 6 innings in this one. Angels win 10-2. Trout, Simmons, Rendon, and Upton get home runs for the Angels, who also go 4-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Off day for our team today, so here's a periodic look at the major league leaders. Simmons is in the top ten for batting average (.335) and further down the leaderboards (not included in the attached image) Trout is in the top five for OBP (.421).

Shohei Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Angels today, and unfortunately gave up a homer to the third batter he faced when Starlin Castro took him deep. He ended up going 5IP, with a rather pedestrian 3ER, 2BB, 3K line. The Nationals never trailed in this one. The final was 6-2 but it was a closer game than that; the Nats led 3-2 in the ninth before a Hansel Robles clunker. Albert Pujols pulled up lame with another injury in the 8th inning (out three days) so Max Stassi played an inning at first base. I didn't know that was a thing, but it turns out Baseball Reference informs me that Stassi has played nine innings at 1B previously in his major league career. Huh, Matt Thaiss has some competition for "weak hitting backup to the weak hitting starting first baseman." Nats sweep the Angels 3-0. Angels are off tomorrow and then welcome the A's to the Big A this coming weekend.

Brian Goodwin gets the rare start over Jo Adell and makes his case, going 2-for-3 with a home run. But his offensive production isn't enough, as the Nationals come back late to win 7-4. Steven Strasburg's uncharacteristically shaky start is good enough, as he earns his sixth win on the season, giving up 4 ERs (two homers) over 6.1 innings. Doolittle gets the save. Ohtani time tomorrow as the Angels try to salvage at least one win in this series.

Max Scherzer does Max Scherzer things. 7 shutout innings, 13 Ks, 0 BBs. Washington wins 2-0. Our old friend Howie Kendrick, playing at DH for the visitors, gets a warm reception from the Anaheim crowd and goes 3-4 with a homer.

Albert Pujols has a great day at the plate, with his third hit a game-tying homer in the ninth. Jo Adell subsequently walks and eventually comes around to score the go-ahead run. Robles with the save as the Angels complete the sweep in Baltimore, winning 3-2.

Chuck, thanks so much for putting this together. A lot of great stories and great questions from knowledgeable fans. Look forward to seeing the recording! -- David Byerman a.k.a. Capital_Dave P.S. For those who might be interested, here is Victor's call of Sammy Sosa's 600th HR:

Another quality start for Patrick Sandoval, who goes 6IP and gives up just one run. 7 K's, 0 BB's. Angels go 4 for 10 with RISP and make the most of their 7 hits, winning the game 7-4. Not as close a game as it seems, as the O's scored three meaningless runs in the 9th off Ty Buttrey to provide an unexpected save situation for Hansel Robles. He executes and the Angels win. Three in a row for the Halos.

Trout, Rendon, and Ohtani hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the first off Wade LeBlanc, and Rendon tacks on another in his next at-bat, as the Angels cruise to a 7-4 victory. Matt Andriese earns his fifth save of the year.

An Angel pitcher makes the little "NO HITTER" box light up in the MLB At Bat app for the first time this season, as he completes five no-hit innings. A Jackie Bradley Jr. single in the bottom of the sixth ends the no-hit bid, but Bundy goes on to deliver the best Angel start of the season, going 6.1 IP and striking out 10, giving up just 3 hits and 1 earned run, as the Angels win 6-1. Upton suffered a minor injury in the 7th that will keep him out of the lineup through the weekend. Trout and Simmons deliver homers for the Angels. Let's give some love to Simmons, who goes 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs and now has the #2 batting average in the majors (.358).

Thank you Chuck. Looking forward to it. PM sent.

J.D. Martinez is the difference maker for the BoSox, as his 4 RBIs prove the difference. Boston beats the Angels, 6-3. Ohtani and Rendon take a seat, and buzz starts to build ahead of Ohtani’s planned start next Wednesday , a home game vs the Nats.

Hey Chuck. I'd be very interested in participating in this opportunity. My involvement in AngelsWin goes back over a decade to the old board, but I'm proud of my member number here (95) and my join date (2/22/2013 - I think that was Day One of the new board?); I promise I won't ask too many questions about the Stratomatic Angels if selected. If I'm not selected I'll definitely be a viewer. Thanks for setting this up.

Someone named "Chris Mazza," who may or may not be a major league baseball player, starts for the Red Sox and goes 6.2 innings, giving up just one earned run to a typically-anemic Angels offense. Jo Adell gets his first "web gem" defensive play of the year, robbing JBJ of an extra base hit, but one good defensive play isn't enough, as the Angels lose 7-1. Mike Trout gets his 10th homer of the year to account for all of the Angels run production, and J-Up posts another 2-for-4 day to continue his regression to his expected performance. One piece of "gallows humor" good news: Albert Pujols is now batting 7th in the order these last few games (kudos to @Jeff Fletcher for that decision). Pujols is 1-for-11 since his return to the lineup, now batting .224. Absurdly, he might not have decided yet whether he's voluntarily retiring in 2021, but surely if he starts like this, Pretend Manager Fletcher will be having some serious discussions about involuntary retirement (or at least diminishing playing time) in the near future.

No game today (weird quirk of the schedule, Angels have only played 33 games to today whereas several teams in our division have 37). The Stratomatic Angels are headed to Fenway and Camden Yards in the coming road trip. In the meantime, here are the current league standings.

Angels explode for 19 hits and 6 homers, including Jo Adell's first MLB career tater and two from Anthony Rendon. Patrick Sandoval gets the win, continuing his excellent run (2.84 ERA). J-Up continues his hot streak, going 2-for-5 and contributing a homer of his own. Angels beat the Twinkies, 13-8.

Twins play small ball, scoring five without a home run en route to a 5-1 victory. Albert Pujols makes his triumphant return to the lineup and picks up right where he left off (0 for 3). Jo Adell gets his first MLB hit on a sixth inning double. Andriese continues to be a bright spot in the rotation with another quality start.

Angels score 1 in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, but a two-run Arraez triple plates two in the top of the 11th and the Twins win a heartbreaker 10-7 in 11. Justin Upton continues his resurgence, 2 for 4 with a homer.

Another off day for the Angels on Thursday. Here are the Angels season to date simulated stats. Simmons is the big overperformer, Upton the big underperformer, so far. Our bullpen has been good but Teheran is the only regular starter with a sub 4.00 ERA at this point. Altogether, team ERA is 5.02 (which I'll point out is, sadly, still better than last year's 5.12).

Jo Adell gets promoted to the Angels and makes his first of many starts to come in RF. But the excitement for the Angels ends there, as Mariners starter Yusei Kikuchi mows down the Angels over 8 innings of shutout ball. He gives up just two hits and strikes out 10. Adell (batting sixth, sounds right for now) goes 0-3, with a flyout and two K's, but more exciting days are sure to come. He'll make his home debut on Thursday against the Twins. Tickets are still available... contact the Angels Box Office. I'm sure they'll be VERY confused.

Mariners journeyman Patrick Wisdom belts two homers (including a grand slam) to lead the Seattle run parade, as they race out to a 10-0 lead and end up with a 13-5 victory. Andrew Heaney continues his brutal start to the season, leaving in the fourth and giving up eight earned runs to drive his ERA up to 10.67. This is Seattle, doormat of the league, with an anemic offense. Rubbing salt in the wound, the Strat-o-matic write up of the game helpfully informs us that, "Wisdom’s 7 RBI [on the game] are more than all but 4 Mariners players have on the season."