Thanks to Shohei Ohtani‘s contributions with the bat and with his arm, the Los Angeles Angels were finally able to stop a 14-game losing streak on Thursday that took them out of the playoff picture for the time being.
When they started their skid, they were 27-17 and challenging the Houston Astros for the AL West lead.
Now, they are a mediocre 28-31, which seems incredible considering the talent they have at hand.
Yesterday, Ohtani was the hero with a 2-for-4 performance that included a home run and a couple of RBI; and seven one-run innings from the mound with six strikeouts.
“What if we just, like, never lost again,” the Angels Twitter account joked right after the hard-fought 5-2 victory against the red-hot Boston Red Sox.
what if we just, like, never lost again 👉👈 pic.twitter.com/lz9W6IqkHi
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 10, 2022
It would be amazingly fitting if the Angels followed up their 14-game losing streak with 10 or 12 victories in a row.
The Angels Are Not Dead Yet
They are certainly capable, given the offensive firepower on the team: besides Ohtani, they should be able to get Mike Trout back soon and Anthony Rendon should join him in a matter of days.
Besides that trio, the team has breakout star Taylor Ward, Jared Walsh, Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, and other useful hitters.
The question would be if their pitching corps, especially their disappointing bullpen, can support such a huge turnaround.
It remains to be seen, but it would be foolish to completely write the Angels off in early June.
There are more than three months of baseball remaining on the calendar; more than half of the games.
They are five games behind the Red Sox, who have the sixth-best record in the AL.
Six teams will make the playoffs in each league, so as improbable as it may sound at this point, the Angels are not dead yet even if no team with a 14-game losing streak has ever made the postseason.
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