One of the greatest rivalries in 21st-century baseball continues on Sunday when Justin Verlander and the San Francisco Giants close out a three-game road series against Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
The teams have split the first two games of the set, each winning a pitchers’ duel.
One day after the Angels got a combined shutout from Tyler Anderson and three relievers, the Giants overcame two home runs by Trout with a combined six-hit effort of Landen Roupp and two teammates.
Trout’s homers, both solo shots, were his seventh and eighth of the season. They came after he had gone 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the series opener.
Trout debuted for the Angels in 2011, six years after Verlander threw his first big-league pitch for the Detroit Tigers. They have shared American League All-Star Game appearances five times. Each won the Rookie of the Year award, and while Trout has earned three MVP trophies, Verlander has one to go with three Cy Youngs.
Trout has gone head-to-head with the right-hander 53 times with just five hits and eight walks, a .116 average that is the slugger’s lowest against any pitcher he has seen more than 24 times. Trout has struck out 11 times in those plate appearances; only nine pitchers have fanned him more often.
Trout has two homers in the matchup versus Verlander. They haven’t faced off since Verlander hung an 0-for-3 on his rival in April 2022 while pitching for the Houston Astros.
Verlander (0-1, 6.75 ERA) has yet to have that kind of success against most hitters this season. He has failed to finish the sixth inning in any of his four starts and suffered his first loss as a Giant when he allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings at Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old had a lead mid-game in each of his last two starts but couldn’t hold onto it.
“You feel like things aren’t quite going your way,” he said after his start against the Phillies, “and then you find yourself in a situation where the team kind of gives you a chance to win. Then, you give up a couple of singles that aren’t really well-struck, and the wheels kind of fall off a little bit. It’s tough.”
The Giants have won two of his four starts, but both were high-scoring affairs – 10-9 over the Seattle Mariners and 8-6 over the Cincinnati Reds.
He’s gone 17-11 with a 3.51 ERA in 34 career starts against the Angels.
Still in search of career win No. 263, Verlander is scheduled to duel Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-3, 4.13), who also has yet to win for his new team.
The 33-year-old is coming off his best effort of the season in a 4-0 road loss to the Texas Rangers, limiting the hosts to one run and three hits in six innings. All four of his outings so far for the Angels have been on the road.
Kikuchi, signed as a free agent in the offseason after pitching last season for the Toronto Blue Jays and Astros, sees a positive in his recent form.
“I’ve spent the week reviewing my data and footage to adjust my pitching form,” he said of his preparation for the loss at Texas. “I had my fastballs traveling in a satisfactory way. That’s one thing I’ve been working on that is starting to click.”
Kikuchi has faced the Giants just twice in his career, going 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA.
-Field Level Media
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