Angels must win big and win often in their last big homestand

If the Angels pull off enough wins in their long homestand, it’ll have a major impact on their push for the playoffs.

At this time of the year, baseball fans are preparing for the post-season. Each team and fan base approaches the hunt for a pennant differently, especially this year in the case of the Angels.

Los Angeles is currently one game (as of this writing) behind the Minnesota Twins for the second wild card berth in the American League.

In order to keep pace with the Twins, maintaining a high level of play becomes even more important than earlier in the season. During the span of Sept. 12-21, the Angels will have three series featuring clashes with the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and Cleveland Indians.

Their opponents are crucial for several reasons. Houston is one of the better teams in baseball, with the second best mark in the AL. Cleveland is the team in front of Houston, although the Astros have been the better team for the majority of the season minus the historic winning streak Cleveland has been on.

Texas also matters a lot at this point because the Rangers are a game behind the Angels in the standings, and losing a head-to-head series against Texas would set the Angels back even more.

For the Twins, they have a homestand between Sept.12 – Sept. 17 and will host San Diego and Toronto. Following that, they’ll have to play ten straight games on the road and travel to New York, Detroit, and Cleveland.

Where the Angels have a chance for an advantage is, of all things, in their series versus the Indians. They’ll get to host Cleveland, which means a chance for their fans to become a factor against the hottest team in the game right now.

Minnesota has to play the Indians at the tail end of the road trip and right before a pair of games at home against the Tigers to finish the season. All the Angels have to do is take care of business at home, and the playoffs will be a very realistic expectation for this team.

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But if they fall short, they’ll really only have themselves to blame.