The Los Angeles Angels were riding high after sweeps against the Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks. Joe Maddon was pleased with a number of “formulaic” wins, which combined all three phases of pitching, defense, and hitting to easily skate to six consecutive wins.
The Angels were hoping to carry that momentum through a more difficult series against the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics were on a hot streak of their own, having won 9 of their last 11 prior to the Angels series beginning, meaning only one team could stay hot. So far, it looks like the Athletics, as they’ve won both of the first two games by a total score of 14-9.
Maddon spoke about the two losses, giving the Halos credit for their work ethic during a tough two outings, according to Mike DiGiovanna of The L.A. Times:
“Of course, it’s suboptimal, as they say,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “But there’s nothing to be upset about. We’re playing hard. We’re doing a lot of good things. We’re banged up a little bit, so I have to give my guys a lot of credit.”
There is something to be said about the fight the Angels have put up on Monday and Tuesday. Earlier in the season, the Halos had a tendency to fold when they faced big deficits. On Monday, they were down 8-1 and made it an 8-5 loss. On Tuesday, they were down 5-2 and 6-3 before ultimately losing 6-4.
Hopefully, the Halos can use the momentum they’ve gotten from the final innings of their two games to go out and win the third, avoiding a sweep. It would also help to build some positive energy for a four-game set against the Detroit Tigers in the team’s first full capacity stadium games since 2019.
If the Angels can win on Wednesday, then let the fans assist them in taking at least three out of four against a lowly Tigers team, they could finish out the week multiple games above .500.
Dylan Bundy unsure about struggles
Angels starter Dylan Bundy has not had the season many hoped for after one of the best seasons of his career in 2020. He tried to put into words what might be causing these issues on the mound, but could not come up with anything. He simply knew it wasn’t for a lack of effort, but that something had to be off mechanically.
