Although the Los Angeles Angels may not be the worst team in professional baseball, they are probably the most pathetic.
Blessed with a roster that includes superstars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, debatably the two best players in baseball, the Angels are in fourth place in their division with a record of 44-61 and are in danger of dropping into the basement of the AL West and moving the Oakland A’s (41-66) up a rung.
The A’s have won three in a row, with their latest victory coming over the Angels on Thursday night in a game that saw Los Angeles tie an MLB record for home runs and still lose 8-7. Mickey Moniak, Kurt Suzuki, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell and Jared Walsh each hit solo home runs for the Angels and Ohtani hammered two solo shots, but the A’s, who hit two dingers of their own, still prevailed by a one-run margin.
The Angels are the first team in the majors to hit seven solo homers and score no other runs in a game. They’re also the sixth team to hit seven homers and lose, according to the Associated Press. The Los Angeles Dodgers were the last team to hit seven solo home runs when they did it against the New York Mets on June 24, 2018.
“We had seven solos and two other hits. I’ve definitely never seen that. I was thinking about that in the dugout,” said L.A. interim manager Phil Nevin. “So we swung it good, and they say solo home runs won’t beat you, but you feel like if you hit seven you might, but it didn’t work out for us.”
Now a season-low 17 games under .500 after going 20-48 since May 15, the Angels are wasting the prime years of the careers of Ohtani and Trout, both of whom now have 24 home runs on the season and will likely get MVP votes despite playing for such a pitiful team.
“Today was a little bit of a different baseball game than I have probably been a part of. It is a very interesting boxscore,” said Oakland manager Mark Kotsay. “I’m happy that our eight held up, and we were able to get a win. The goal is to win the game and score more runs. Solo home runs at the end of the day are nice, but they don’t necessarily always help you win games.”
At least not if you’re the Angels.
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