Game 48: Red Sox at Angels

After winning 2-3 against the San Diego Padres the Red Sox march into Anaheim with a 5-5 record over their last ten games. They have a 1 game lead on the slumping Toronto Blue Jays to hold into fourth place in the AL East. The Los Angels Angels are also .500 Over their last ten games and hold a two game lead in the AL West over the fourth place Seattle Mariners. The Oakland A’s are 20 games out of first and working on breaking the scale so 4th place is effectively last in the AL West.

Tanner Houck starts for Boston and brings with him a string of disappointments. Not terrible but disappointing. With the collapse of Corey Kluber, Houck has gained some protection for his claim on a rotation spot. Although Garrett Whitlock looms large and Nick Pivetta is lurking from the bullpen. There are positives: Houck’s 5.48 ERA is offset by a 4.09 FIP. Now that guy, 4.09 FIP guy, he’s a great option for the back end of the rotation. All things considered, Houck is giving innings: 5.0, 5.2, 6.0, 5.0, 7.0 over his last five starts. Just a little more around the edges and you’re looking at a solid contributor.

Jaime Barria is making his first start of the season. Not appearance, he’s got 10 of those already. While the righty made 11 starts as recently as 2021, last season he made just a since appearance as a starting pitcher. As an opener he makes some sense with 3 of his appearances this year lasting at least 3 innings. He’s faced double-digit batters four times in 2023. He can give some length. He’s the reverse of Houck in pitching metrics though. While Barria’s ERA is a tidy 1.96 his FIP sits at 3.51. That’s still good of course. But he’s not a sub-two ERA reliever like you could imagine coming from the back of the bullpen. There’s room for regression.

First pitch is a 9:38 PM ET on WEEI and NESN,