2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games, May 18-21

2020 MLB Season: Simulating AL games (May 18-21)

Team Profiles

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox have been conspicuously ordinary, as their 25-26 record would suggest. At .248, they rank eighth in the AL in batting average. They offset an 11th place standing in on-base average (.307) with a .453 slugging average that stands fourth in the league.  Boston has 82 home runs, third behind the Twins and Astros.

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With a 4.49 team ERA, ninth in the league, the pitching numbers are also average. Nathan Eovaldi (4-1, 2.48) and Collin McHugh (6-2, 320) are off to great starts, but otherwise, the Sox aren’t showing much mound form. Martin Perez, Ryan Weber, and Darwinson Hernandez have been called on to start 25 games so far despite the fact that none has an ERA below 5.50.

Bogaerts (.353, 14 homers, 29 RBIs) and Rafael Devers (.303, 11 homers, 35 RBIs) are the offensive stars. But Jackie Bradley Jr. is under .200, and Andrew Benintendi has suffered through an injury-marred season that has seen him hit .205.

Cleveland Indians: The Indians are a surprising fourth in offense with a  .269 average. Middle infielder Cesar Hernandez has emerged as a star, batting .317. Jose Ramirez is at .310 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs, both team-leading totals. The offense will be better when and if outfielder Franmil Reyes (.189/.275/.385) gets going.

Cleveland ranks seventh in pitching with a 4.16 ERA. Beset by nagging injuries that have limited him to seven starts, presumed ace Mike Clevinger is 3-2, but he’s only pitched 43 innings and is likely not to take the mound again until early June. Shane Bieber has stepped up; he’s 5-2 with a 2.97 ERA in nine starts.

Thanks to nearly six runs of offensive support, Adam Plutko is 5-1 despite a 4.07 ERA.

Los Angeles Angels: Despite the performance of Ohtani and Rendon, the Angels have been disappointments. They’re hitting just .237 as a team, 12th in the league, with .314 on-base and .395 slugging averages.

Couple that with a 5.02 ERA, third-worst, and the surprise is the team is only one game under .500.

The Angels can thank Ohtani (.352/.416/.659) and Rendon (.317/.399/.589) for that. The guy they still have to get going is Mike Trout, who through 51 games sits at .261, although he does have 11 home runs.

It would also help if the Angels could turn up some pitching. Cam Bedrosian is the staff ace for the moment at 5-3, 3.10 in nine starters. But they have leaned too heavily on Atlanta pickup Julio Teheran, who has returned the opportunity given to him with a 1-6 record and 7.20 ERA in 10 starts.