Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels Pick & Prediction SEPTEMBER 18th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Eric Wagaman will complete his inaugural stint in the big leagues as the Los Angeles Angels take on the Chicago White Sox in the deciding game of a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, California.
Things have been going well for the 27-year-old third baseman so far.
Wagaman, a 13th-round selection of the New York Yankees in the 2017 draft, was called up to the Angels from Triple-A Salt Lake on September 10. He had a stellar performance in Los Angeles' 5-0 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
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In his last four games, Wagaman, who grew up in nearby Aliso Viejo and attended Angels games, has been on fire, hitting .437 with two home runs, three doubles, and four RBIs.
"It's been a special experience being here for this homestand," Wagaman said. "I have a lot of friends and family in the stands. It's been amazing. It's been fantastic."
Angels manager Ron Washington commented, "He's demonstrating his exceptional ability to make contact with the ball. He allows the ball to come to him. He has power. We just have to wait and see where it takes him. It's been impressive."
The win on Tuesday ended a six-game losing streak for Los Angeles (61-90). Wagaman hit a home run for the second consecutive game, this time a 434-foot blast into the rock pile in left-center.
"I'm trying to learn from each at-bat and continue to build on them," Wagaman said.
The Angels also received a strong bounce-back performance from Griffin Canning, who only allowed three hits and two walks in six scoreless innings while striking out six. Canning had given up a career-high 10 runs (nine earned) in his previous start, a 10-5 loss to Minnesota on September 10.
Chicago (36-116), which had a rare three-game winning streak snapped, only managed six hits, with Dominic Fletcher and Nicky Lopez each getting two. The White Sox were shut out for the 19th time this season, the most in the major leagues.
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"We couldn't get any momentum going," White Sox manager Grady Sizemore said. "I thought we had some opportunities, had some decent at-bats. But we just couldn't string anything together to generate any offense. It was just one of those days."
A day that has become all too familiar for Chicago fans this season. The White Sox must win seven of their final 10 games to avoid tying the modern major league record for losses in a season (120), set by the 1962 New York Mets. The American League record for losses is 119, set by the 2003 Detroit Tigers.
Left-hander Jared Shuster (1-4, 4.54 ERA) will try to help Chicago win its second consecutive series on Wednesday. It will be Shuster's first appearance against the Angels, and he will be making just his fourth start of the season as an opener.
Los Angeles will counter with rookie Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 5.08 ERA).
The right-hander has lost his last two starts, including a 6-4 defeat to Minnesota on September 11, where he gave up four runs on seven hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings while striking out three. This ended a streak of five consecutive quality starts for Kochanowicz, the first Angels pitcher to achieve this since Shohei Ohtani in 2021.
Kochanowicz, a rookie, has yet to face the White Sox.
Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels Recap SEP 18TH 2024
Griffin Canning allowed three hits over six innings and Eric Wagaman went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs as the Los Angeles Angels snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Canning (6-13), who gave up a season-high 10 runs (nine earned) over 5 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins in his previous start, walked two and struck out six on Tuesday. Brock Burke, Hunter Strickland and Ryan Miller each tossed one inning of relief as the Angels handed the White Sox their 19th shutout loss of the season.
Taylor Ward had three hits and an RBI and Gustavo Campero had two hits and a run for Los Angeles (61-90), which finished with 10 hits.
Dominic Fletcher and Nicky Lopez each had two hits for Chicago (36-116), which moved within four losses of matching the modern major league record for losses in a single season, set by the 1962 New York Mets (40-120).
Davis Martin (0-5) suffered the loss for the White Sox, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Martin allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings while striking out four.
Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Charles Leblanc led off with a walk, advanced to second on a single by Campero and scored on a single by Ward.
The Angels increased the lead to 2-0 in the fourth, taking advantage of a leadoff walk by Nolan Schanuel, who advanced to second on a single by Niko Kavadas and then scored on a single by Wagaman.
Los Angeles made it 3-0 in the fifth, when Campero led off with a single, stole second and scored on a two-out double by Schanuel.
Wagaman homered for the second straight game -- a 434-foot drive to left-center off reliever Enyel De Los Santos that made it 4-0 in the sixth inning.
The Angels extended the lead to 5-0 in the seventh when Ward led off with an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch by Jake Eder, who was making his major league debut.