The Los Angeles Angels are riding a three-game winning streak and sit half a game back of the Seattle Mariners for the top spot in the American League West, thanks in part to solid starting pitching and a huge power surge from their offense.
Prior to the season, Taylor Ward was slated to be the Angels’ everyday right fielder but that was delayed due to an injury. Upon his return, he has been red hot, slashing .353/.500/.647 in 34 at-bats.
Ward’s presence has helped safeguard the club with a few of their premier bats off to slow starts, but his two-homer game on Monday put the Angels alone in MLB with three multi-homer games from their players. He joined Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani as the other Halos’ players to pull it off.
L.A. currently ranks No. 2 in MLB in wOBA and home runs, and Mike Trout is a main driving force with his league-leading 1.234 on-base plus slugging and .347 batting average.
Taylor Ward joins Shohei Ohtani (4/15 at TEX) and Mike Trout (4/23 vs. BAL) as #Angels with a multi-HR game this season.
Halos are only MLB team to have three players with multi-HR games this year. https://t.co/xjxdF8f1jX
— Angels PR (@LAAngelsPR) April 26, 2022
Coming off of a serious leg injury, Trout hasn’t missed a beat in 2022, and this past Saturday he notched his 21st career multi-homer game, which is more than any Angels player in the franchise’s history.
Ohtani has a different story to the season thus far, offensively, as he has struggled mightily out of the gate, striking out 25 times compared to only six walks with an on-base percentage that sits at .272 in 75 at-bats.
Angels not panicked by Ohtani’s struggles
The Angels jumped out to a 10-7 record this season and entered play Tuesday trailing the first-place Seattle Mariners by only a half-game in the American League West standings.
The Angels lineup has been a bright spot so far, with Trout returning to MVP form while Ward and Brandon Marsh are showing signs of a breakout season. Although those hitters have found success, other players are looking to break out of their respective slumps.
Angels hitting coach Jeremy Reed isn’t concerned about Ohtani’s lack of production and believes his struggles are being magnified.
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