4-22-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
The Bucs are quickly heading the wrong way this season and their opponents this week will be looking to take advantage to turn things around after a hot start to their 2025 campaign as the Los Angeles Angels [of Anaheim] play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a three game series this week.
Los Angeles started the season hot, winning 9 of their first 14 contests before recent stumbles knocked them out of the top spot in their division.
For the Buccos, they have shored up their bullpen with the return of David Bednar and the relief corp holds a 2.54 ERA since April 8th – the 6th best in MLB over that stretch – but haven’t been able to get wins as they’ve gone 4-8 in that time.
4/22
Pirates: Bailey Falter (L) 22 IP, 1-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 15 K, 7 BB
Angels: Jose Soriano (R) 25.2 IP, 2-2, 3.16 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 20 K, 10 BB
4/23
Pirates: Andrew Heaney (L) 25.1 IP, 1-1, 2.13 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 22 K, 6 BB
Angels: Jack Kochanowicz (R) 20.1 IP, 1-2, 6.20 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 10 K, 7 BB
4/24
Pirates: Carmen Mlodzinski (R) 17 IP, 1-3, 7.41 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 14 K, 8 BB
Angels: Tyler Anderson (L) 21.2 IP, 2-0, 2.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 21 K, 12 BB
Pirates: Enmanuel Valdez – Fans of the team are slowly coming around on Valdez, who has been getting regular playing time at first base due to the injury to Endy Rodriguez. Over his last 7 games, Valdez has a 1.101 OPS with more walks (6) than strikeouts (3) in that stretch.
Angels: Logan O’Hoppe – The 25-year old backstop for LA has been among the best hitters in baseball this month, slashing .314/.340/.569 over 53 April plate appearances. Strikeouts are still an issue for O’Hoppe but he’s getting more consistently good contact at the plate as of late.
Pirates: Alexander Canario – The sand is quickly running out for Canario’s tenure with the Pirates. Despite a 58.8% hard hit rate and 35.3% barrel rate, Canario is struggling to get hits, posting a .087/.192/.217 line through his first 26 plate appearances in black and gold. His expected numbers all indicate that he’s been getting some bad luck (.274 xBA and .815 xSLG) but results are what matters and he just isn’t getting the results.
Angels: Mike Trout – Don’t get me wrong here, Trout is CRUSHING the ball as his average exit velocity and hard hit rates are among the best in MLB. Strangely enough, he currently ranks as the unluckiest hitter in baseball with a .133 BABIP. Unfortunately for him, he’s also striking out a heck of a lot more than he used to and bad batted ball luck won’t help that much at all. Trout has gone down on strike 3 in each of his last 9 games totaling 17 Ks in that stretch over only 35 plate appearances (48.6%).
Pirates: C/1B Endy Rodriguez (10 day – finger laceration), 1B Spencer Horwitz (10 day – wrist surgery), 2B Nick Gonzales (10 day – fractured ankle), SP Jared Jones (60 day – elbow discomfort), SP Johan Oviedo (60 day – Tommy John surgery), RP Colin Holderman (15 day – sprained knee), RP Tim Mayza (15 day – strained lat), RP Dauri Moreta (60 day – Tommy John surgery)
Horwitz is working out in Bradenton and is slated to start a rehab assignment soon with the potential to make his Pirates debut within the next few weeks.
Angels: 3B Anthony Rendon (60 day – hip surgery), 3B Yoan Moncada (10 day – sprained thumb), SP Sam Bachman (15 day – Thoracic outlet syndrome), RP Ben Joyce (15 day – shoulder inflammation), RP Robert Stephenson (60 day – Tommy John surgery)
Joyce is among the hardest throwers in baseball, reaching as high as 105.5 mph last season, so losing him is a big blow for the Angels who have struggled to stabilize pitching depth.
Notes:
The Angels are backed by an offense which ranks 4th in MLB for home runs while ranking 29th in walk percentage as a very all-or-nothing approach to the game.
The Pirates have the 3rd most innings pitched by the rotation with 127.2 through their first 23 games this season, taking the workload off a bullpen which had significant blow ups dating back to last summer.
Steel City Pirates 