Los Angeles Angels Flying High After All-Star Break

It was a wild weekend at the Big-A — to say the least.

It was a weekend that included a Mike Trout walk off home run, a two hit shutout by Angels ace Garrett Richards, the first rained out game in 20 years, a helicopter that hovered above the outfield to dry it out, and a home doubleheader that resulted in one rout and the eventual sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

To start off, I was at the game on Friday (in my Red Sox gear). Personally, I enjoy pitching duels. Wade Miley of the Red Sox and C.J. Wilson of the Angels didn’t let any bats get going that night.

Miley had a perfect game going into the 6th inning, while Wilson only gave up five hits in eight scoreless innings of work. My friend Tim and I had walked up to the Budweiser Patio to catch the last couple innings.

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Enjoying a nice cold beer, along with the friendly heckling of Angels fans, the bottom of the 9th was about to start.

Once I saw Johnny Giavotella leading off, I turned to my buddy and said “Oh no, Mike Trout is up 3rd.”

After the Red Sox forced the first two outs, I turned around, almost knowing what was to come next.

Mike Trout steps up to the plate, and crushes the ball to left center, and giving the Angels the 1-0 walk off win.

As Angels fans are screaming “MVP! MVP! MVP!” it was a very long walk back to the car.

The Angels are playing the best baseball they have played all year.

They are finally hitting their stride Angels fans knew they could. The Angels are sitting atop the AL West at 52-40, winners of five straight, and hold a 2 game lead over the young Houston Astros.

Los Angeles is climbing up the MLB Power Rankings according to ESPN, currently ranked 6 (last week they were 7).

The Angels are the hottest team in baseball right now, in my opinion. They have won 15 out of 18 and starting to play like a team that could contend for the World Series.

I can point to three reasons why the Angels are starting to bring the life back to Anaheim — Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and the Angels’ starting pitching.

All-Stars Mike Trout and Albert Pujols are pretty easy to see why the Angels are playing so well. Pujols leads the majors with 29 home runs on the year, Trout not far behind with 28.

If their bats stay hot (and they have to in order to stay ahead in the division), the Pujols/Trout tandem could become the first teammates to hit 40 home runs in the same season since Manny Ramirez/David Ortiz did it for the Red Sox in 2004-05.

Both guys are in talks of the AL MVP race and I think one of them will be holding that crown by year’s end.

The Angels starting pitching has been phenomenal. Especially their young pitching.

Their ace, Garrett Richards, coming off knee surgery, has posted a 10-6 record with a 3.24 ERA.

Every start he makes, he is getting back to his dominant form before the knee injury.

Hector Santiago is having a 7-4 year with a 2.30 ERA. He leads the Angels with 108 strikeouts in only 113.1 innings. Andrew Heaney has only had five starts for the Angels, but is 4-0 and has only given up six runs in those games.

So far, Heaney has a staggering 1.57 ERA.

The Angels offense has sputtered at times throughout the season, but it seems to be coming along when they need it most. As for the pitching, they will need to stay on top of their games in order to make a deep run in October.

Bottom Line: It seems the LA Angels are back on track.

Baseball fans know that having good starting pitching (preferably three quality starters) and timely hitting in the playoffs could mean the difference between your team going home or lifting the World Series Trophy.

Light that halo up!

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