Angels series preview: Fallen angels

In 2014, the Royals swept the top-seeded Angels in the American League Divisional Series en route to a pennant. The next year, the Royals won it all while the Angels won 85 games and fell shy of making the postseason. Since then, the Angels have had nine consecutive losing seasons in a row, despite spending on top free agents. This year, the team is tied for the fourth-worst record in baseball, with the worst winning percentage in club history since 1994.

Los Angeles Angels (53-71) vs. Kansas City Royals (69-55) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Angels: 3.98 runs scored/game (26th in MLB), 4.87 runs allowed/game (27th)

Royals: 4.88 runs scored/game (7th), 4.00 runs allowed/game (5th)

The Angels have been pretty bad all year, but they did win a series against the Yankees earlier this month. They just finished a homestand where they lost five of six, and they lost three out of four to the Royals at home earlier this year. They have been a much better road team, however, going 26-31.

Only five teams have hit fewer home runs than the Angels - Mike Trout is still sixth on the team in home runs despite being out since April. They have the seventh-lowest on-base percentage and the sixth-lowest ISO.

Zach Neto is hitting .295/.396/.526 since the All-Star break. Taylor Ward is hitting .363/.404/.516 against lefties. Logan O’Hoppe is hitting just .077/.172/.192 this month. Nolan Schanuel has the fifth-lowest hard-hit rate in baseball. Luis Rengifo, who the Royals were rumored to be interested in acquiring, is out for the year with an injury. Former Royals minor league infielder Jack Lopez was called up last week after hitting .274/.333/.421 with 12 home runs in Triple-A.

The Angels have stolen 102 bases, but are tied for the worst success rate for steals at 71 percent. Defensively, the Angels have been average in Defensive Runs Saved, but have the fourth-worst Outs Above Average.

Carson Fulmer was a reliever much of the year, but has moved to the rotation recently, where he has a 4.82 ERA in six starts. He lasted just three innings his last time out against the Blue Jays, giving up two home runs and five runs in a loss. He has pitched much worse on the road, with opponents hitting .286/.394/.487 against him. Fulmer throws his change up more than anything - it has a 36.9 percent whiff rate - mixing in a a sinker, a four-seamer, and a slider.

Tyler Anderson has been the best Angels pitcher in the second year of a three-year, $39 million deal. He was rocked for seven runs in less than six innings in a loss to the Blue Jays his last time out. Anderson has the second-best changeup in baseball and he throws it more than anyone else except Kyle Hendricks. He has a reverse platoon split with lefties hitting better against him than righties, particularly in the power department.

The Angels have not yet announced a starter for Wednesday, but former Royals pitcher Johnny Cueto was called up and could make that start. The 38-year-old had a 3.09 ERA in four starts with the Angels’ top minor league affiliate after opting out of his minor league deal with the Rangers. He had a 6.02 ERA in 52 1/3 innings with the Marlins last year, and he hasn’t had a season with 10+ starts and an ERA below four since 2016.

The Angels bullpen has a 4.14 ERA, 19th-lowest in the league. They traded Luis García and Carlos Estévez at the deadline, and closing duties have been handed primarily to Ben Joyce, whose 102 mph fastball is the fastest in baseball. Hans Crouse has struck out 32.7 percent of batters he has faced. Lefties are hitting .179/.257/.418 against Matt Moore. Mike Baumann is on his fourth team this year, having already pitched for the Orioles, Mariners, and Giants.

The Angels are a bad team, and the Royals specialize in beating bad teams - their 42-20 record against losing teams is the second-best in baseball, behind the Twins. They are coming off some of their best play in Cincinnati but need to keep it going against a directionless team playing out the string.