Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals: Rookie Pitchers Key in Game 2

Game 1 of the American League Division Series between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Kansas City Royals took 11 innings. Eventually, Mike Scioscia's Angels fell to the Royals and their dominant bullpen, losing 3-2. 

Heading into Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday, both teams are relying on young pitching to get the job done and bring home a win.

Los Angeles will send rookie Matt Shoemaker to the hill. A product of Eastern Michigan University, Shoemaker came out of nowhere to have a huge season for the Halos. After making just one big league start in 2013, the 28-year-old earned a spot in the Angels bullpen to start the season. By May, he found himself a member of the rotation.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Shoemaker earned a decision in all 20 of his starts, going 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA. He led the team with 1.6 BB/9 and 5.17 K/BB.

Shoemaker also went at least five innings in 18 of those starts, proving to be a reliable member of the staff.   With the losses of Tyler Skaggs and Garrett Richards to injuries and the struggles of C.J. Wilson, the Angels were desperate for a pitcher to stabilize the rotation.

Shoemaker did just that.

Now they are banking on him for a win in Game 2. For what it is worth, Shoemaker had mixed results against the Royals during the regular season. He allowed just two earned runs over five innings against KC on May 24 but got no decision.

June 27 was a different story. The Royals lit Shoemaker up for eight runs in four innings. The big blow was a grand slam form Kansas City's Omar Infante.

The Angels are hoping for much better this time around.

Opposite Shoemaker will be another standout rookie. The Royals will go with 23-year-old flamethrower Yordano Ventura on Friday.

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

A native of the Dominican Republic, Ventura also saw brief time in the majors last season before catching on as a permanent member of Kansas City's rotation in 2014.

He wowed teammates, opponents, scouts and fans alike back in spring training, touching 100 miles per hour on radar guns with ease. He beat out Danny Duffy for the fifth spot in the rotation. Nicknamed "Ace," a reference to both his talent on the mound and to the Jim Carrey movies, Ventura went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA in his first full season.

Many questioned Royals manager Ned Yost when he decided to bring Ventura out of the bullpen in relief of James Shields in the Wild Card Game. With two on and nobody out, Oakland Athletics slugger Brandon Moss took Ventura deep.

Of course, as well all know, the Royals came back several times and won the game in 12 innings.

Now, the Royals need Ventura to shake that outing off and put them in line to win Game 2.

All stats were obtained via Baseball-Reference.com.

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