Dodgers welcome Angels to town for ‘Freeway Series’

The Dodgers and Angels will face off for the second time this season. Back in May, the Angels took two of three from the Dodgers. This time around, the true LA team is looking to get even against the team from Anaheim.

Trea-Day?

The Dodgers very well could be adding the second piece of their blockbuster trade deadline package this weekend. Max Scherzer made his LA debut last night, but we still haven’t seen Trea Turner, as he’s currently on the COVID-IL.

Earlier in the week, manager Dave Roberts said he expects Turner to fly into Los Angeles on Friday. Whether or not we see him play this weekend is still a question mark. He was placed on the COVID-IL more than a week ago, but returning from it is tricky and a lot has to happen first.

If we see him make his debut, well that will be awesome. If not, it’ll likely be next week in Philadelphia.

Welcome to the ‘Sho’

The Dodgers will have another look at the great Shohei Ohtani, who is currently the American League MVP favorite. The two-way sensation has been one of the best hitters on the planet, while also being one of the best pitchers in the league as well. Luckily for the Dodgers, they’ll only have to worry about Ohtani the hitter this weekend. After pitching on Wednesday, Ohtani won’t face the Dodgers on the mound, but he’ll still be a handful in the batters box.

With the Angels playing in a National League park, Ohtani won’t be able to DH, meaning he’ll likely have to play in the outfield.

Pitching matchups

The Dodgers get lucky by not having to face Ohtani on the mound, but they’ll still have their work cut out for them. On Friday night they’ll face Patrick Sandoval who has been having a great season as a starter for the Halos. Saturday will be Jaime Barria, who has looked great in his two recent starts for the Angels. He’s allowed two runs over his last 13 ²⁄₃ innings. Then on Sunday will be rookie Reid Detmers, who was the first round pick by the Halos in 2020. His big-league debut was rough last week, but there’s a reason he has risen through the system so quickly.

The off-days will benefit the Dodgers, as they avoid needing to have a bullpen game during the weekend. They’ll have David Price, Julio Urias and Walker Buehler on the bump.

Talk about health

All season, it seems as if the Dodgers were the team completely decimated with injuries. Now, with the exception of Trea Turner, everyone is healthy and ready to go. *Knock on wood.

The same can’t be said for the Angels. They’re still without Mike Trout, who hasn’t played in months. Jared Walsh, who made the All-Star Game and is having a career year, is currently on the Injured List. Oh, and to top things off, Anthony Rendon is out for the season. It’s been brutal hit-after-hit for the Angels in 2021.

Fighting for playoff spots

Both teams are in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Dodgers (at the time of this article) are 3.5 games behind the Giants for the NL West lead. The Angels (at the time of this article) are 6.5 games back of the second AL Wild Card spot. Yes, every game is crucial, but each team has a chance to make up some serious ground this weekend in their respected hunt.

The Giants will be taking on the first place Brewers, meaning LA can make up some ground should Milwaukee take care of business. Meanwhile for the Angels, the teams in front of them in the Wild Card race all have difficult weekend matchups as well. The Mariners and Yankees play each other and the Blue Jays play the Red Sox. The Angels can get a lot of help and move up a few games, especially if they’re able to take the series against the Dodgers.