The Los Angeles Angels are staring straight at a 100-loss season, and the math is simple: they need two more wins in their four-game series with Seattle to keep that from happening.
They already grabbed the opener, and that mattered because it came with Grayson Rodriguez on the mound for the other side. Rodriguez allowed four runs in five innings, but the Angels found enough late life to rally and steal the game. That kind of comeback has not been a common sight this season, which is exactly why no one in Anaheim should be treating it like a trend.
Now the Angels turn to Reid Detmers, and he gives them a legitimate shot to keep the pressure on. Detmers has been one of their better arms this year, even if his last outing was shaky. Against the Minnesota Twins, he gave up four runs in five innings, though the Angels still came back to win behind him.
He also stands out as one of the few Angels pitchers who has not mentally checked out on the season. Rodriguez’s situation has been tied to inconsistency and the broader drift around the club, while Detmers has said he was grateful to stay in Anaheim at the deadline, which is a pretty striking thing to say on the surface.
Seattle will counter with Bryce Miller, who usually brings a tougher test. He held the Colorado Rockies to an unearned run over 5-1/3 innings in his last start, and before that he allowed two runs in five innings against the Athletics.
Those outings came in parks where the ball can play a little funny, but this time Miller gets the comfort of home in a pitching-friendly stadium. On paper, that should tilt things toward Seattle and make life difficult for the Angels lineup.
Still, the last time these teams met, the pitching edge did not decide everything the way it looked like it might. And with both clubs essentially grinding through the final stretch, this one feels like the kind of game that can swing on one timely inning, one mistake, or one of those rare Angels bursts that has shown up just often enough to keep them alive.
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Christian Moore Just Gave Angels Fans A Reason To Keep Watching
Christian Moore gave the Angels a much-needed lift in a game they had to have, driving in multiple runs in a 6-4 win over the Mariners and delivering the go-ahead double when the moment tightened. The Angels had already been working with traffic on the bases when Seattle stuck with Bryan Woo, and Moore made that decision pay by turning a close game into one Los Angeles could finally control.
The Angels then added an insurance run in the eighth inning and let the bullpen finish the job, a small but welcome sign of competence in a season that has not always offered many clean finishes. For a team trying to stay worth the watch, Moores bat was the kind of late-game spark that can make a September game feel like something more. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Fans Finally Have A Reason To Believe Again
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The ripple effects are obvious, too, with Arte Moreno now on the outside of the operation he once controlled and Kurt Suzuki left in a tougher spot as manager under the new regime. None of this guarantees immediate success, but it does give the Angels a different kind of energy around the franchise, one built more on possibility than resignation. For once, the conversation around the team is about what comes next instead of what went wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Grayson Rodriguez Still Leaves The Angels With One Huge Doubt
Grayson Rodriguezs first season with the Angels was a long, uneven one after he arrived from Baltimore in the Taylor Ward trade. A rocky start, complicated by injury and inconsistent results, left the right-hander searching for answers, but he did show real improvement in August after some coaching changes, giving the Angels at least a late glimpse of the pitcher they believed they were getting.
Even with that encouraging finish, the concern in Anaheim is obvious. Rodriguez closed the year with a 6.02 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP, numbers that reflect how far he still has to go to settle into a reliable rotation piece. The Angels do have three years of team control left, which keeps the long view intact, and they are still hoping he can get all the way back to the pre-injury form that made him such an appealing part of the deal. [Read more 🡒]