Rams owner Stan Kroenke agreed this week to buy the Angels from Arte Moreno in a reported $4 billion sale, but on the field, Friday is just about survival for a team that's spent September playing out the string. Jared Jones gets the ball for Pittsburgh after the Pirates bumped his turn from Thursday to Friday, calling it workload management. Ryan Johnson takes the mound for LA, still searching for the version of himself that doesn't get squeezed by walks, as the Angels look to salvage anything they can down the stretch.
Jones is coming off a rough turn against the Cardinals that ended in a loss, while Johnson's control issues in his last start against Philadelphia were the same problem that's plagued LA's rotation all year. Neither staff walks into Friday with much momentum, which puts extra weight on whichever bullpen holds up better.
Pittsburgh still has a game left against San Francisco — having split the first two — before this series opener, so whatever relievers get used there will shape who's actually fresh Friday night.
LA's already been picking through injuries in the middle of the roster — Josh Lowe is day-to-day, and Nolan Schanuel remains on the 10-day IL with a side issue, though he's been cleared to start swinging a bat again. The pitching depth is even thinner: George Klassen just landed on the 15-day IL with low back inflammation, and that's before counting the long-term outs like Anthony Rendon and Yoan Moncada, both done for the year.
Pittsburgh's dealing with its own attrition behind the plate — Endy Rodriguez is done for the year with a hip injury, and the Pirates called up catcher Christian Bethancourt and lefty reliever Brandon Eisert from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill in as rosters expand. Both clubs are mostly playing out the string at this point, but expanded rosters mean plenty of fresh arms and new faces getting a longer look down the stretch.
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