Dodgers vs. Angels Preview, Playoff Preview, Pitching Duels & TV

Technically, the Dodgers' road trip continues on Tuesday, but in reality the team is back home as they face the Angels in two games at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

These will be Shohei Ohtani's first games that count in a stadium he has called home for the past six seasons. He received a standing ovation during the Freeway Series in spring training at Angel Stadium in March.

This week marks the end of the interleague portion of the Dodgers' schedule. They face the Angels and then host the Guardians at Dodger Stadium. This is part of a 14-game series against American League teams, up from 18 in three weeks. The Dodgers have a 27-14 record in interleague play, third best in baseball. Only Atlanta (27-13) and Milwaukee (31-15) are better.

In two games in Anaheim, a quartet of pitchers will try to turn around a lost season last month.

Former Louisville teammates and fellow 2020 first-round draft picks Bobby Miller and Reid Detmers will not face each other, with Detmers starting for the Angels on Tuesday and Miller starting for the Dodgers on Wednesday. Both were sent to the minor leagues after struggling this season.

Detmers returned when the roster expanded in September after three months with Salt Lake. In his last three Triple-A starts, he had recorded 29 strikeouts and allowed just three runs in 21 innings. Miller still has issues with his control — sometimes with his offspeed pitches, sometimes with his fastball — but his last two starts showed the appearance of something to build on even if he's prone to home runs, and he recorded 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

Walker Buehler starts Tuesday's opener and looks to go five innings for the first time since June 12. The right-hander has a 5.88 ERA in 11 starts and is now three starts removed from a two-month reset caused by right hip inflammation. Buehler played against the Orioles last Wednesday in front of a poor defense and was taken out of the game after 4⅔ innings, but said afterward, “I'm more motivated than I've been since 2021.”

Griffin Canning starts for the Angels on Wednesday and leads the American League with 83 earned runs allowed this season. His ERA of 5.19 ranks 59th among 61 qualified major league pitchers, but he has the best ERA among the four starters in this series, with Detmers at 6.12 and Bobby Miller at 7.25.

The Dodgers and Angels share a pair at Dodger Stadium on June 21 and 22.

On television, there are several options for watching locally besides SportsNet LA. The Angels will broadcast both games on Bally Sports West. Tuesday's opening game will also be available on MLB Network, but that broadcast is only available out of market.