The Los Angeles Angels — not necessarily by choice — are putting their faith in the youth movement during the 2024 season. Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, Jo Adell, Jose Soriano and others make up a relatively young roster made even younger by injuries to Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. But that youth didn’t seem to be phased in a home sweep of the San Diego Padres earlier this week.
The Angels secured their first home series win of the season and second sweep of the season, getting three narrow victories over the Padres with young players putting together big contributions. Soriano got the victory on the mound in the finale and Neto tallying four RBI during the series.
Neto, the leader in the clubhouse during the series, spoke about what the sweep means to him and the team in terms of their progress as a young core, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It shows a lot and that we can hang with anyone,” Neto said. “It doesn’t matter how young our team is. We have the right guys in this locker room to go out there every day and show what we got. But it gives us a lot of confidence and hopefully gives our fans confidence we can win at home.”
Manager Ron Washington was ecstatic about the full-series performance by his team, particularly on the mound.
“The whole three games were outstanding with the way the guys went out there and performed,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “The pitching was outstanding the whole series.”
While the Angels are not in the business of contending for the postseason in 2024, series like this once can serve as a major boost for a young team looking for momentum and potential pillars moving forward. Neto has shown this type of leadership and talent many times already, and continues to establish himself as an important part of the Angels future.
Angels vs. Astros probables
The Angels welcome their American League West rivals, the Houston Astros, to Anaheim for a three-game weekend set. The Astros, due to pitcher injuries, have had a poor season thus far and have yet to find any rhythm with a 28-35 record. Below are the probable pitchers for the series.
Game 1: Friday, June 7, 6:38 p.m. PST
Griffin Canning vs. Framber Valdez
Game 2: Saturday, June 8, 7:07 p.m. PST
Tyler Anderson vs. Hunter Brown
Game 3: Sunday, June 9, 1:07 p.m. PST
Patrick Sandoval vs. Justin Verlander