Let’s try this matchup again
After a disappointing series in San Francisco, the Red Sox head to Anaheim to face the Los Angeles Angels. These will be games 80, 81, and 82 on the season. It’s not early: it’s midseason. And despite a hot couple weeks the Red Sox enter at 40-39, just a single game over .500. They’re (barely) on the outside looking in for a Wild Card spot. This is a team that can either push onward or fall apart for the fourth straight year.
The Angels are 11-9 in June. Boston is 12-7, losing two-of-three to these same Angels at Fenway Park. However those games were all winnable for the Red Sox. Two absolutely crushing pitching performances negated very strong nights for the bat that climbed almost all the way back.
Sure, they have Mike Trout. He’s better than any two Sox put together probably. But the Angels are well under water in terms of run differential (321-375 vs Boston’s 372-357).
Roman Anthony is now up. You can basically throw out whatever batting line he’s showing right now. Unless he’s a flop in the majors then his true talent will look nothing like this and any day could be the first day he’s fully online in the big leagues. This might not happen until 2026 for all we know but he’s looking better at the plate. He’s drawing walks. He got that first home run. And he’s making loud outs.
This is his Statcast batting page:
Statcast
That’s a lot of red. He’s not a qualified hitter yet and small sample sizes etc etc etc. But he’d be just outside of some very elite players if this holds true.
Take, for instance, Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani is obviously at the top of the scale. Heck, he kinda breaks the scale (and is also a lefty so no, I’m not using the Yankees’ Great Toe as a comp). But Anthony is in the shadows of greatness looking at his exit velocity and barrels. If Ben Franklin asked him “is there greatness in you?” Roman Anthony would deliver.
Walker Buehler may be running out of rope. He doesn’t look like he’s improved since 2024 despite finally being healthy again. You have to feel for a guy needing almost two years to heal and then a third year to maybe try and pitch again? There have been flashes both in the 2024 Worlds Series and across his starts this year. If Hunter Dobbins hadn’t hit the IL with, gulp, elbow soreness, Buehler could have been the odd man out with Richard Fitts returning. He couldn’t have asked for a better matchup than Kochanowicz though. If he’s even slightly decent the Sox should be able to put runs on the board.
Garrett Crochet won’t get a chance to win at home but he can win on the road! Tyler Anderson, nicknamed Ricky F. Or Mr. Duck, was knocked around for 5 runs in 4.1 innings at Fenway Park in the walk-off win.
Richard Fitts makes his return from the IL for real this time. He only lasted one inning against the Angels a few weeks ago and hopefully now that he was able to rehab and return and not be called upon as an emergency starter he’ll be back to his old self. He faces Kikuchi who gave up 3 runs in 5 innings on 8 hits and 5 walks. This was the game the Angels win in extra innings.
In sad news, but maybe to Boston’s advantage, Ron Washington has stepped aside from managing for health reasons. Their lineup clearly isn’t carrying them. Their pitching is all over the place. Maybe his dedication to the players was a secret sauce.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday June 23: Walker Buehler (5.95 ERA / 5.34 FIP) vs. Jack Kochanowicz (5.38 ERA / 5.69 FIP)
Tuesday June 24: Garrett Crochet (2.20 ERA / 2.59 FIP) vs. Tyler “Mr.” Anderson (4.56 ERA / 3.57 FIP)
Wednesday June 25: Richard Fitts (4.71 ERA / 5.87 FIP) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (3.01 ERA / 3.88 FIP)
When/Where to Watch
Monday June 23: 9:38 PM ET on NESN, MLBN
Tuesday June 24: 9:38 PM ET on NESN
Wednesday June 25: 4:07 PM ET on NESN