Game 16: Angels at Red Sox

It’s a tale of two teams with the Red Sox in the early going. One team is never out of it and the other…is. Anyway, after two games of the never-quit Red Sox, the team sits at 7-8 while the opposing Angels rate at 7-7. A win puts the Sox back at .500 and gives the Angels a losing record.

Welcome to Boston, Kenley Jansen.

Masataka Yoshida returns to the lineup today after missing a few days being generally banged up. Maybe a little rest will let him reset. The WBC-to-MLB whirlwind for someone new to Major League Baseball probably didn’t help him get adjusted.

Pitching for the Red Sox is Garrett Whitlock, making his second start of the season. In his first start against the Tampa Bay Rays, the righty allowed five runs in five innings. He also gave up three home runs. However he struck out five and walked no one, so the damage was somewhat limited. If we assume he’s going to return to his normal home run rates, this could be a nice rebound outing. Of course, with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani the lineup is no cake walk.

In his second MLB game Zach Neto is leading off for the Angels. Welcome to the show, kid.

First pitch is at 1:10 PM ET on WEEI and NESN. And tomorrow starts bright and early at 11:10 AM. Get ready for brunch baseball.