Red Sox facing another winnable series against Angels to close out season-opening road trip

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox are 5-2. With an asterisk.

Yes, the Red Sox did technically compile three of those victories against a Major League Baseball team. Technically. But the Oakland A's -- as the shameful developments on Thursday displayed loudly and clearly to the world -- are just barely an MLB team. Barely.

The A's currently sit at 1-6 on the season. Their lone win came when a Guardians reliever walked in the winning run on four pitches in a game with an announced attendance of just over 4,000 fans. Along with the Rockies (1-6 record, minus-34 run differential), Marlins (0-8, minus-30) and White Sox (1-5, minus-20), the Oakland A's (1-6, minus-29) are in the absolute lowest tier of MLB teams this season.

So, yes, the Red Sox' three wins in Oakland do count. And to be honest, beating bad teams was no sure thing for the Red Sox a year ago. There's reason for positivity in that sense. But nobody's mistaking the Red Sox as currently constructed for being a World Series contender.

With that being said ... the Red Sox have another winnable series awaiting them in Anaheim.

The Angels have a winning record at 4-2, but they likewise benefited from facing one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad teams in the basement of MLB. After losing their first two games of the year in Baltimore by a combined score of 24-7, the Angels salvaged a 4-1 victory to close out that series before sweeping the miserable Marlins in Miami.

The Angels, like the Red Sox, have exceeded the non-existent expectations placed upon them entering the season. Though in Anaheim's case, the outlook was even drearier than Boston's. Preseason win totals had the Angels at 72.5, while the Red Sox were up at 77.5. The Angels had the fifth-lowest over-under, better than only the Nationals, White Sox, Rockies and A's.

In terms of preseason evaluations of these two teams, you have quite bad (Red Sox) to even worse (Angels). Mathemetically and scientifically, that means the Red Sox have a decent chance of winning this series and heading back to Boston with a 7-3 or perhaps even an 8-2 record. 

Here's what the matchups will look like.

Angels Hottest Hitters

The Angels, as you might have heard, lost Shohei Ohtani over the winter. But they still have Mike Trout, and he's still Mike Trout.

Trout is hitting just .273 thus far in the season, but he's made the most of those six hits, with three of them soaring over fences for home runs, giving him a 1.015 OPS. Unfortunately for the Angels, all three of those homers were solo shots.

Left fielder Taylor Ward is off to the best start of all Angels, as he's hitting .320 with a 1.080 OPS, with two doubles and three homers. He also leads the team with eight RBIs. And in just 16 at-bats, catcher Logan O'Hoppe is batting .438 with a 1.175 OPS on the strength of a double, a triple, and three walks.

In terms of hitters who are decidedly not hot, Anthony Rendon -- who only kinda-sorta likes baseball -- is 0-for-19 on the season.

Red Sox Hottest Hitters

The lone Red Sox batter with an OPS over 1.000 is Tyler O'Neill, thanks to his two solo home runs in 18 at-bats and his team-high five walks. Jarren Duran raised his average from .125 to a team-high .393 with his preposterous 9-for-12 finish at the plate in Oakland.

Catchers Connor Wong and Reese McGuire are each hitting .333 on the young season, while Rafael Devers -- despite a homer and an excuse-me double through a vacated left side of the infield -- is hitting just .217 with a .715 OPS thus far.

Red Sox-Angels Pitching Matchups

Friday, 9:38 pm. ET: Kutter Crawford vs. Griffin Canning

Kutter Crawford was solid in his 2024 debut, allowing just one unearned run over six innings in Seattle, striking out seven batters and walking one. The Red Sox lost that game, 4-3, in 10 innings.

Griffin Canning wasn't quite as sharp in his first start of the year, as he allowed five runs (all earned) on seven hits in Baltimore, striking out just two batters while walking one. Canning went 7-8 with a 4.32 ERA last year.

Saturday, 9:38 p.m. ET: Garrett Whitlock vs. Reid Detmers

Garrett Whitlock gave the Red Sox five strong innings in the series finale in Seattle, allowing one run in five innings of work in a 5-1 victory. He struck out eight batters without walking anybody.

Reid Detmers was the starter for the Angels' lone win in Baltimore, as he also allowed one run in five innings. He struck out seven hitters but did issue three walks.

Sunday, 4:07 p.m.: Tanner Houck vs. Chase Silseth

Tanner Houck got the start to begin Boston's series in Oakland and shut down the A's for six shutout innings. He allowed just three hits while striking out 10 and not walking anybody.

Chase Silseth got roughed up in his three innings of work in Miami, when he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and a pair of walks while striking out five Marlins. He left the game with the Angels trailing 4-1 through three innings, though they rallied for a 7-4 win.

Collectively, Red Sox starters have a 1.89 ERA, which ranks third-best in baseball. That's thanks in large part to facing the A's, yes, but also to the work of the bottom three starters in Crawfrod, Whitlock and Houck.

Red Sox-Angels Bullpen Matchup

Raise your hand if you had the Red Sox' bullpen leading the majors in bullpen ERA at any point this season. Anyone?

The Red Sox are currently tied for that honor with the Tigers, as their bullpen arms have allowed just three earned runs over 26.1 innings thus far.

Chris Martin has been the best of the bunch, as the 6-foot-8 righty has been untouchable this season. He's allowed four hits without allowing any walks in his four innings, striking out five batters and recording a pair of holds. He is, quite simply, nasty.

Four other Red Sox relievers have 0.00 ERAs in multiple outings: Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, Kenley Jansen and Josh Winckowski. 

Angels relievers have posted a 5.11 ERA in their 24.2 innings of work, allowing 27 base runners (17 hits, 10 walks) while striking out 16 in that span. Carlos Estevez has locked down two saves with two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Matt Moore has also pitched two scoreless innings, while Jose Soriano has three scoreless innings under his belt. 

Guillermo Zuniga has a save but has allowed three earned runs in his five innings of work, while Luis Garcia (36.00 ERA, 5.000 WHIP), Jose Cisnero (9.00 ERA, 2.000 WHIP), Jose Suarez (5.40 ERA, 1.200 WHIP) are off to some tough starts.