The 2016 Angels continue to live life at the extremes. Following a demoralizing homestand in which the team was swept for the third and fourth times this season, the Halos went on the road and swept the Seattle Mariners right out of first place. The Angels have now either swept (3x) or been swept (4x) seven times in 12 series this season, and they still have no series wins that aren’t sweeps.
I don’t know what to make of it all, and I doubt the Angels do either. What we and they can take away from Seattle, though, are two things far less philosophical: 1) the offense can really swing it when everyone’s on their game; and 2) the rotation might not end up becoming the dumpster fire we imagined after all.
The offense started showing signs of life in the final game of the homestand, but it wasn’t until they reached Seattle that they really confirmed a pulse. With 35 hits and 19 runs in the three-game set, the Angels raised their team OPS+ to 99, the closest they’ve been to average all year. Of the nine regulars, now only Johnny Giavotella and whoever is manning shortstop on any given night have an sub-80 OPS+. A week ago that was true of half the lineup. Maybe this offense will be OK?
The rotation also came to life over the weekend, albeit in a somewhat more muted fashion. That’s not to say Jhoulys Chacin and Hector Santiago weren’t spectacular, but the bar was about as low as it gets. Just seeing that an Angels starter could actually get both to and through the sixth inning (no matter the score) was reason to celebrate and be hopeful that not every reliever’s arm will fall off by the time August arrives.
As noted above, where the Angels go from here is anyone’s guess. But don’t be shocked if/when more sweeps are involved.
Boxscore Breakdowns
Game 1: Angels 7, Mariners 6
Game 2: Angels 9, Mariners 7
Game 3: Angels 3, Mariners 0
Series Takeaways
The Bullpen Is Finally Out Of Gas
We all knew it was coming eventually, but it would have been nice if it hadn’t come all at once. After a nearly three-week stretch of brilliance, the bullpen surrendered nine runs in six innings of work on Friday and Saturday. Jose Alvarez, Mike Morin, and Fernando Salas all ended prolonged streaks of scoreless appearances, raising the bullpen ERA by almost half a run (from 2.88 to 3.35). In a fun twist, Joe Smith proved to be the most reliable reliever of the weekend, throwing three scoreless innings and inching up that career- low strikeout rate.
Geovany Soto Is The Angels’ Starting Catcher Now
Mike Scioscia might not ever confirm it, but the starter catcher gig is Geovany Soto’s until further notice. Soto has now made a majority of the starts in four of the last five series (nine starts total) and is hitting .294/.351/.529 in that span. He’s also caught 4 of 10 base-stealers since then and 29% overall.
Carlos Perez has made six starts in that same 15-game span. He’s just 3-for-21 in that time, lowering his already abysmal slash line to .155/.211/.197. But hey, at least he’s throwing out runners at a 44% clip.
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