The Angels walk into this three-game set in Seattle with plenty of ground still to cover, but they’re not fading quietly. Los Angeles is 36-49, yet the math in the AL West keeps the door cracked open: the Angels are only 6.5 games behind the first-place Texas Rangers and six back in the wild-card chase entering play Monday.
That’s the backdrop for a series that could matter more than the standings suggest at first glance. The Angels are coming off a strong series win over the Athletics, a stretch in which they’ve taken six of their last 10 and four of seven against Oakland. In the clincher, center fielder Josh Lowe - filling in for Mike Trout - delivered the big swing, launching his first career grand slam in the second inning to put Los Angeles ahead for good in a 4-1 win.
The rest of the game held together cleanly from there. Oakland’s only run came on a sacrifice fly in the fifth, while left-hander Sam Aldegheri gave the Angels exactly what they needed with five sharp innings. He allowed one run on five hits and a walk, struck out four, and the bullpen then limited the A’s to three baserunners over the final four frames.
Now the challenge gets bigger. Los Angeles opens this road series against the Mariners with rookie right-hander Ryan Johnson set to face Seattle righty George Kirby. Kirby has been throwing the ball well over his last three starts, and he’s still one of the anchors of that Mariners rotation.
Johnson has taken his lumps in limited work this season, going 1-2 with an 8.84 ERA and 1.71 WHIP across six games, including three starts, over 19.1 innings. He’s struck out 15 and walked nine. But his last outing was the kind that can change the tone around a young pitcher: against the Baltimore Orioles on June 23, he worked six scoreless innings, allowed just one hit and two baserunners total, and struck out eight in a second career win.
Kirby’s line this season sits at 6-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, along with 84 strikeouts and 23 walks in 16 starts covering 96 innings. His latest start came against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he gave up two runs, one earned, on nine hits and two walks while striking out five.
The Angels already handled Seattle once this season, taking two of three in early April, and they’ll try to repeat that in this series as they keep pushing in a crowded division race.
In Other News...
Angels May Have Found Their Most Frustrating Deadline Trade Chip
As the Angels head toward another likely sell-off at the trade deadline, the bullpen has produced one name that could stand out if the front office decides to listen. A controllable reliever who still has years of team control left, hes drawing attention because contending clubs are always willing to pay for late-inning help, especially when it comes with a long runway beyond this season.
What makes the situation tricky is the timing. He was shaky early, but June has brought a sharp turnaround, with the kind of improved pitch metrics that can quickly change how rival teams value him. If that run continues into August 3, the Angels may find themselves holding a relief arm whose trade value looks very different from what it did just a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Angels GM Search Could Reveal Whether This Team Finally Learns
John Mozeliaks run as the Angels interim general manager has already prompted a familiar question: whether the next front-office move will actually look beyond the usual impulses that have kept this organization searching for answers. With his extensive Cardinals background, Mozeliak is in position to shape what comes next, and that includes the possibility of bringing in people he knows from St. Louis as the Angels sort through their GM search.
Among the names being discussed are Randy Flores, Rodriguez and Rob Cerfolio, each with a different kind of rsum that could pull the Angels in a different direction. Flores has built a reputation as the Cardinals scouting director, Rodriguez brings international scouting and player acquisition experience, and Cerfolio arrives with recent Guardians development work and a Cardinals role overseeing minor league operations. The question for the Angels is less about familiarity than whether this search leads to a front office that looks intentionally built, or just another version of the same cycle. [Read more 🡒]
Contender Eyeing Angels Power Bat As Trade Deadline Tension Builds
The Brewers have put together a strong enough season to make this kind of deadline chatter feel more like planning than dreaming, especially with a rotation that has been the best in baseball and an offense that has been dangerous in June. Even so, the one area that still stands out is the lack of thump. Milwaukee has not piled up home runs at the rate of the leagues biggest bats, even if the power has ticked up lately, and that is why the conversation is already turning toward how the roster might look before the 2026 deadline.
One name being tied to that future fit is Jorge Soler, whose profile matches the kind of extra punch a contender can never quite get enough of. There is also a sense that if the Brewers do decide to shop in that lane, they would not be limited to just one path, with Isaac Paredes mentioned as another bat who could slide into the mix if he were ever available. For now, though, Milwaukees interest is really about identifying the right kind of impact hitter before the market gets crowded and the stakes get even higher. [Read more 🡒]