Mike Trout, Kenley Jansen, Angels Call Out Start Time for Getaway Game vs. Pirates

Mike Trout is one of several Los Angeles Angels players unhappy about the team's start time for Thursday's series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Per The Athletic's Sam Blum, the Angels scheduled the start time for the latest possible moment for a getaway game allowed by the collective bargaining agreement at 6:29 p.m. PT.

The issue for Angels players is playing a night game on Thursday, then hopping on a plane to Minnesota where they will likely get in very late overnight before a 7:40 p.m. ET first pitch against the Twins on Friday.

"It’s not ideal for sure," said Angels superstar Mike Trout. "I don’t know when we’re supposed to land, but it’s going to be early. And we’ve got to play that night. And the worst part about it is, the next day is a day game."

Angels closer Kenley Jansen told Blum the situation isn't "healthy for anybody" because of how much stress the combination of late-night travel and playing games can put on the body.

"To finish playing a night game like that, get in at six in the morning," Jansen said. "Then you’ve got a 7 o’clock game, and the next couple days you have 1 o’clock games. It’s definitely not fair."

Blum noted the start time was picked by Angels management, with the possibility they were anticipating Paul Skenes might be starting for the Pirates. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year is scheduled to start on Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In asking Angels owner Arte Moreno and president John Carpino about the possibility of a Skenes start, Blum wrote that neither one answered whether or not that was a factor in the decision to start the game at the latest time allowed under the CBA.

Another complicating factor in this decision is the airport the Angels have to use to get to Minnesota. According to Blum, their usual airports in Orange County (Long Beach Airport or John Wayne Airport) likely won't be available because they have 10 p.m. curfew times.

Even though the game will likely be over before 10 p.m. local time, when you factor in all of the postgame activities and packing up for a flight, the odds of the Angels being able to make it to either spot by that time is remote.

Instead, the Angels will have to fly out of Los Angeles International Airport that adds roughly 30 minutes to their trip.

Friday's game between the Angels and Twins was originally going to start at 7:10 p.m. CT, but the Twins announced it was moved up by 30 minutes to accommodate an expected increase in traffic in downtown Minneapolis for Game 3 of the NBA playoff series between the Lakers and Timberwolves at Target Center.

Sunday's game is also starting 30 minutes earlier to accommodate Game 4 of the Lakers-Timberwolves.

One rival executive told Blum this is a frequent problem when playing the Angels, saying it would be "great" if they would change how they operate. The executive did add it's not limited to the Angels, citing the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles as other examples of teams that cause difficult travel schedules for their opponents.

The Pirates, despite being the road team, aren't going to be as negatively impacted by the start team because they are staying on the west coast this weekend for a three-game series with the Dodgers.

Los Angeles is off to a decent start this season, at least relative to expectations. The Angels are 11-11 going into Thursday's game against the Pirates, but they have lost seven of their last 10 games after an 8-4 start.