Angels and Rangers end series, look ahead

The Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers conclude their three-game series on Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif. Both teams look to finish the first half strong but have different goals after the All-Star break.

The Rangers are the reigning World Series champions and are still looking to make the playoffs despite a disappointing first half. They have won five in a row.

The Angels, however, have been out of the race for a long time and will be looking to improve long-term, having lost three games in a row and eight of their last nine games.

One move the Angels are likely to make is trading closer Carlos Estevez, whose contract expires at the end of the season. And after being named the American League’s Reliever of the Month for June, Estevez is generating a lot of interest.

Estevez made 8 of 8 saves in June and did not allow a run in 10 innings. Overall, he has a 2.89 ERA and 16 saves.

A trade for Estevez would give right-hander Ben Joyce the opportunity to eventually become the club’s closer, considering the progress the hard-throwing 23-year-old has made this season.

Joyce’s four-seam fastball has reached 103 mph this season, but that’s nothing new. As a pitcher for the University of Tennessee, he set a college record for fastest pitch at 105.5 mph.

What has made the difference for Joyce this season is the development of a new pitch – he calls it the “splinker” – a combination of a splitter and a sinker. He first threw it on June 14 in a game against the San Francisco Giants and hasn’t allowed a run since. He threw 12 1/3 scoreless innings in nine appearances, including two scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss. Overall, he is 1-0 with a 3.14 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings.

The purpose of the splinker is to get ground balls and reduce his pitch count rather than relying on the strikeout.

“That’s very valuable,” Joyce said. “I want to be able to throw two or three days in a row, so quick groundball outs are always a good thing. It’s been very useful to have that in the arsenal.”

And it’s exactly what he needed to be considered as a candidate for the closer position.

“He’s growing, man,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He’s starting to believe in himself and his ability to throw the ball across the plate. If he can do that, he’s going to be a really good player.”

Right-hander Griffin Canning (3-9, 4.87 ERA) will make his 19th start of the season for the Angels on Wednesday after losing to the Chicago Cubs on Friday, where he allowed four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 5-1 loss.

Canning has a 2-3 record with a 5.70 ERA in seven appearances (five starts) against the Rangers.

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (5-4, 3.21) will make his 16th start of the season for Texas. He earned a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday after throwing five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and five walks.

Lorenzen is 1-2 with a 4.22 ERA in seven career games (three starts) against the Angels.

Lorenzen was a last-minute signing by the Rangers, who gave him a one-year, $4.5 million contract at the end of spring training. The Rangers needed more depth with regulars Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle injured.

Lorenzen admitted he was annoyed that it took so long to get a contract and was hoping for a long-term deal, especially considering he was an All-Star in 2023. Despite having a late start to the season, he is second on the club with five wins.

“I’m thankful for that chip on my shoulder,” Lorenzen said. “I think if I had gotten the deal I wanted, I might be happy and satisfied, but the quote goes, ‘The good is the enemy of the great.’ So maybe I would have been satisfied. But I looked at it and God had more in store for me.”

–Field level media