The Los Angeles Angels are in free fall. Los Angeles saw its losing streak reach 10 games Saturday night after starter Michael Lorenzen put the club in a 5-0 first inning hole against the Philadelphia Phillies, a game it eventually lost 7-2. The Angels are 6-16 since starting the season 21-11, and they’ve fallen 7 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West.
Not only are the Angels on a 10-game losing streak, but the great Mike Trout is stuck in a career worst 0-for-23 slump. The longest hitless streak of his career prior to this one was an 0-for-21 stretch in May 2018. Trout went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the Phillies on Saturday. This is already his fifth three-strikeout game of 2022 — only 11 players have more.
Perspective is in order: Trout is hitting .278/.380/.585 and is still top 10 in OPS despite the 0-for-23 skid. As ugly as this slump is, Trout will be fine. He’s still incredible. The Angels? I’m not so sure they’ll be fine. After performing so well earlier in the season, the rotation has been shaky of late, the offense isn’t deep enough to overcome Trout’s slump, and the defense has been subpar.
“It looks terrible and when you’re not hitting. You look lifeless,” Angels manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com prior to Saturday’s game. “But we’re going to stick with our guys and we’re going to be fine. But in the meantime, it’s difficult to watch and hard for our guys, too.”
The Angels have been outscored 68-28 during the 10-game losing streak — outscored by four runs per game! — and, according to FanGraphs, their postseason odds have slipped to 42.6 percent. They peaked at 81.4 percent on May 15. The Angels still occupy the third and final American League wild card spot, though four teams are now within 1 1/2 games.
Los Angeles’10-game losing streak is the second longest in baseball this season, only trailing the Cincinnati Reds‘ 11-game losing streak from April 12-23. The Angels last lost 10 consecutive games in August 2016, when they dropped 11 straight. This is the franchise’s ninth double-digit losing streak and only its second this century.
The Angels have not been to the postseason since 2014, and they haven’t won a single postseason game since Trout was called up for good in 2011. Their last postseason win came in 2009. The Angels will look to salvage their six-game road trip with a win in the series finale against the Phillies on Sunday.
KVSP