In case you had the pleasure of missing this week’s Angels games, all you need to know is that the Halos lost, by a lot, almost every day. The two series against the Oakland A’s and the Houston Astros this week were going to be difficult, not only because those two teams are far and away better than the Angels this year, but also because postseason stakes were high for both teams. Houston was (and is still) trying to clinch the division while the pesky A’s are now only one win away from a postseason berth. It wasn’t the best week of the Angels’ long season, but there were still some good moments in between the mess.
Best of the Week: Mike Trout (.280/.333/.920, 5 HR, 2 BB, 1 SB)
Shouldn’t be a shocker here. Mike Trout balled out in the midst of the slump this week. He owned the long ball with five home runs in seven days, and had 9 RBI, which is almost half of the Angels’ 20 runs they scored all week. Just go ahead and call Mike Trout the Rick Astley of baseball, because this guy just never gives up on the Angels, no matter how much it seems they give up on him. If Trout can continue his hot streak into the last week of the season, this season could be the most damning in the case for the Angels trading Trout to a contender. This week, Trout will be chasing double-digit WAR on the season, as he is currently sitting at 9.9 on the year, so I would expect him to be very, very Trout-like here in the last week of another disappointing season.
Worst of the Week: Justin Anderson ( 5 IP, 10.80 ERA, 6 ER, 7 BB, 5 SO, 2.40 WHIP)
It was as if the entire bullpen was competing for this award this week, as game after game, the A’s and Astros both racked up the runs in the later innings of games, scoring a combined 32 runs in the fifth inning or later throughout the week. However, the award for worst of the worst has to go to Anderson, as he boasted some of the least impressive performances among consistent relief pitchers this week. It’s no secret that Anderson has struggled to reliably produce all season long, and this week was a real wake-up call for him and the Angels organization who, with any sense, will use this offseason to add some actual talent to their relief pitching.
Head-Scratcher of the Week: Shohei Ohtani’s Mini-Slump (.158/.315/.158)
Among many Angels who didn’t have their best week in the last 7 days, Ohtani was surely a standout. He had more strikeouts than hits and walks combined, struggling at the cleanup spot all week long. This kind of skid is certainly uncharacteristic of Ohtani’s young career, and likely something we won’t see on a consistent basis. However, coming off of a couple of really nice weeks, this was certainly a strange sequence of at-bats for the rookie phenom. Still, nothing to be concerned over, as he is still slashing .281/.364/.560 with an impressive .923 OPS.
Photo: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports
