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| 6:38 PM PT7:38 PM MT8:38 PM CT9:38 PM ET21:38 ET1:38 GMT9:38 6:38 PM MST8:38 PM EST9:08 PM VEN5:38 UAE (+1)7:38 PM CT, May 26, 2023 Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California Attendance: 32,130 |
Yuli Gurriel guides Marlins into set with Angels
Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Angels
- The Marlins and Angels have played just 19 games against each other, with the Angels taking 12 of them, including three of the four meetings last season. The Marlins are 2-6 all-time at Angel Stadium, winning once in 2014 and once in 2005.
- Miami dropped three of four in Colorado and has gone just 2-7 on this western road trip. The Marlins are 17-41 on the road against NL West foes since 2019, and 8-18 since the start of last season; they went 4-4 in eight road games against AL West foes last season.
- Jorge Soler had multiple hits -- including a home run -- in each of the last three games at Coors Field and went 7-for-18 with three homers and five RBI over the four-game set. He leads MLB with 10 HR this month, the most by a Marlin in a calendar month since Giancarlo Stanton had 18 in August 2017.
- Jesus Luzardo conceded six earned runs over 5.0 innings in San Francisco on Sunday, one shy of his career high. The former Oakland pitcher has a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings of work against the Angels, including one run on two hits over 5.0 innings in his start against them last season with Miami.
- Los Angeles swept the Red Sox and has won six of its last seven dating back to the last game of its road trip. The Angels have allowed just six runs over their four-game win streak and notched their fifth shutout of the season on Tuesday, third in the AL behind the Rays (eight) and Blue Jays (seven).
- Shohei Ohtani allowed three home runs in a win in Baltimore on May 15, but bounced back to allow just one run on two hits against Minnesota in his last start. The two-way star had four hits, including a home run, in that May 15 start, but is hitting just .173 in the nine games since, with three of his six hits going for home runs.
Yuli Gurriel was a batting champion without a team at the beginning of spring training just a few months ago, but he has become a big part of a Miami Marlins team that will begin a series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Gurriel, who won the American League batting crown and a Gold Glove in 2021 while with the Houston Astros, signed a minor league deal in March with the Marlins. He was expected to be a backup to All-Star first baseman Garrett Cooper and give the club infield depth.
But Gurriel, who will turn 39 in June, has proved to be more valuable than might have been anticipated, both on the field and in the clubhouse. He went 2-for-4 with a double and triple in the Marlins' 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday in Denver and is hitting .299 with three homers, 11 RBIs and an .800 OPS this season.
Gurriel went 9-for-12 in the three-game series at Colorado, including a four-hit game on Wednesday. His production has been especially important for the Marlins considering Cooper has struggled this season -- .239 with five homers, 19 RBIs and a .683 OPS -- notwithstanding Cooper's game-tying, pinch-hit, ninth-inning, two-run homer on Thursday.
Even so, Gurriel's biggest impact for the club might be his mentoring of younger players.
"He just kind of grabs you one-on-one," Marlins catcher Jacob Stallings said. "We all really respect him and just kind of gravitate towards him. ... And if you're having a rough day, (he) just says, 'Hey, stick with it. Stick with it. You're good. Keep going.'"
Miami infielder Joey Wendle agreed.
"To have a guy with his pedigree -- he's been on winning teams, he's won a batting title -- I've just really been impressed with the pro that he is," Wendle said. "He's here, he gets his work in, he knows how to take care of his body (even at) 38 years old."
Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (3-3, 3.83 ERA) will make his 11th start of the season for Miami on Friday. He is 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA in five career games (one start) against the Angels.
Lefty Reid Detmers (0-3, 4.87) will make his ninth start of the season for the Angels. He has never faced the Marlins.
Los Angeles center fielder Mike Trout enters play Friday having homered in each of his past two games. In the process, he tied, then passed, Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio on the all-time home run list, with his total now at 362.
Trout, like DiMaggio, is a three-time American League MVP, although DiMaggio missed three prime years -- his age 28, 29 and 30 seasons -- because of military service.
"It means a lot," Trout said of moving up to No. 85 on the all-time home run list. "Any time you pass or tie a great, or even just be in the same conversation with a great, it's really special, especially another center fielder."
Overall this season, Trout is hitting .275 with 12 homers, 27 RBIs and an .891 OPS, but he is still trying to find a rhythm.
"It's here and there," he said.
The Angels have won four straight games and six of their past seven; the Marlins have lost four of five.
--Field Level Media
Updated May 26, 2023
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