The Los Angeles Angels have an opportunity to pick up some ground on the teams above them in the AL West standings, as they began a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners, the team sitting in second in the division. And it was as good of a start to the three-game series as the Angels could have hoped for, as they took a 5-4 victory thanks to some excellent pitching from the team’s relief corps.
Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had a few shaky moments, but he did give the Angels six innings on the mound, allowing just four earned runs on eight hits, which was good enough for the win. Following up Hendricks from the bullpen were Ryan Zeferjahn, Reid Detmers, and Kenley Jansen, all of whom pitched scoreless innings. Jansen, the veteran closer, ended up picking up his 13th save of the season.
In so doing, two Angels reached some notable career milestones. Hendricks, in pitching six innings and grabbing the victory, recorded the 100th win of his career. Meanwhile, Jansen, who’s been closing games throughout his big-league career, picked up his 460th save — putting him to within 18 saves of tying Lee Smith on the all-time leaderboard.
The Angels have had to rely on veteran players over the past few years to supplement their Mike Trout-led roster, and the results haven’t been pretty. They have not made the playoffs since 2014, although contributions like these from the likes of Hendricks and Jansen would go a long way towards their goal of snapping that drought.
On Friday, it was the Angels’ veterans that did the bulk of the heavy lifting; on the other side of the pitching battery was Travis d’Arnaud, who homered in the third and drove in two runs — setting the stage for Zac Taylor and Nolan Schanuel to give them a 5-4 lead in the fifth that ended up being the final score.
Angels look to escape the .500 whirlpool
Over the past few seasons, the Angels have hovered around the .500 mark before fading away later in the season. It’s shaping up to be more of the same for them, especially if their team continues to play at such middling levels on both sides of the ball.
There are two games remaining in the Angels’ series against the Mariners, and picking up more wins against division opponents should at least allow them to remain semi-competitive and perhaps pounce when both Seattle and the Houston Astros let their foot off the gas pedal.
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