Los Angeles Angels at Miami Marlins

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LAA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
MIA	0	0	4	0	3	0	0	0	—	7	10	0

Walbert Ureña draws Sandy Alcantara for Saturday's series matchup at loanDepot Park, and on paper it's the best pitching matchup of the weekend by a mile. Ureña, a 22-year-old rookie who's quietly become one of the better stories in an otherwise miserable Angels season, brings a 2.54 ERA into the desert of a 44-71 team. Alcantara, once the game's best pitcher before Tommy John surgery wrecked most of two seasons, has looked like himself again, and Miami needs every bit of it.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Angels(44-71)

WLLWL

0

+1.5-150+144o8.5+167

Marlins(58-58)

LLLWW

7

-1.5+147-147u8.5-167

Best BetMarlins -156

Pregame

Miami's the better team even in a rough stretch, and Alcantara pitching like an ace again is the separator here. The Angels have shown some fight lately but they're 44-71 for a reason, and Ureña alone isn't enough to consistently overcome that gap in overall roster quality. Back the Marlins at home behind their best starter.

The lineups behind these two arms tell very different stories. The Angels are picking through the wreckage of a lost year, with Anthony Rendon and Yoan Moncada both out for the season on the 60-day IL and Yusei Kikuchi's rehab going sideways in Triple-A. Miami's not much healthier — Max Meyer's still shut down with a neck issue and the bullpen has bled arms all summer — but the Marlins at least have games to play for, sitting right at .500 with time to climb back into the wild-card mix.

Walbert Ureña

(8-9)·2.80 ERA

Aug 2 vs Brewers

W

6.0IP

0ER

7K

3BB

90P

08/08 Lineup

Sandy Alcantara

(13-8)·3.46 ERA

Aug 2 @ Mets

W

6.0IP

0ER

5K

2BB

102P

08/08 Lineup

Neither club is arriving in form. The Marlins just got run out of Atlanta, dropping the finale 11-3 to cap a sweep, while the Angels needed a win over Baltimore just to avoid a fourth straight series loss. It's not exactly a measuring-stick weekend, but for two teams searching for any kind of traction, Saturday's matinee matters more than the standings suggest.

Los Angeles Angels

(44-71)

Aug 6W@ Orioles4-1

Aug 5L@ Orioles2-5

Aug 4L@ Orioles1-3

Aug 2Wvs Brewers3-0

Aug 2Lvs Brewers1-3

Miami Marlins

(58-58)

Aug 6L@ Braves3-11

Aug 5L@ Braves1-4

Aug 4L@ Braves2-4

Aug 2W@ Mets2-0

Aug 1W@ Mets6-2

Ureña's emergence is the one legitimate bright spot for an Angels team that's been picked apart by injuries all year — his fastball sits in the upper 90s and he struck out 7 Brewers over 6 shutout innings in his last time out. Alcantara matched him blow for blow in his last start, blanking the Mets over 6 innings on just 4 hits. If both arms show up anywhere close to that, this could be a lot tighter than the records suggest.

Los Angeles Angels

(7)

• 10-Day-ILSebastian Rivero (C) — Rivero (hand) began a rehab assignment Saturday and has gone 3-for-7 with a home run in his first two rehab contests.07/29
• 15-Day-ILSam Bachman (RP) — The Angels placed Bachman on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to right forearm radial nerve inflammation.08/05
• 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi (SP) — Kikuchi (shoulder) yielded six earned runs on three hits and five walks while striking out four batters across 1.2 innings Tuesday in a rehab start with Triple-A Salt Lake.08/05
• 60-Day-ILYoan Moncada (3B) — Moncada (knee) has been rehabbing at his home and hasn't started baseball activities, MLB.com reports.07/22
• 60-Day-ILJack Kochanowicz (SP) — Kochanowicz's Tommy John surgery on his right elbow was deemed "successful," per MLB.com.06/27
• 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson (RP) — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon (3B) — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Miami Marlins

(7)

• 15-Day-ILMax Meyer (SP) — Meyer (neck) will continue treatment and won't throw for the next two weeks, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/24
• 15-Day-ILAnthony Bender (RP) — Bender (shin) was cleared to begin a throwing program Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILWilliam Kempner (RP) — The Marlins placed Kempner on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right elbow sprain.07/12
• 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi (RP) — Nardi (ribs) said Wednesday that he's about 2-to-3 weeks away from beginning a rehab assignment, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.07/29
• 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez (RP) — Henriquez (elbow) began playing catch from 60 feet out Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling (SP) — Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.05/22
• 60-Day-ILAdam Mazur (SP) — The Marlins placed Mazur (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08

Both bullpens are running thin behind their starters, which is really the crux of this one. The Angels lost reliever Sam Bachman to the IL this week with forearm inflammation, and Miami's relief corps is already down four names to injury. Whichever pen holds up longer probably decides who walks away with the series lead.