Los Angeles Angels: Four takeaways from Opening Day

The Angels ‘ first game of the 2018 season is now in the books, which means it’s time to take a look at some takeaways from Game 1 of 162.

1. Middle of the lineup struggles

Now it is just Opening Day, so maybe there really is no reason to worry much, but Trout, Upton, and Pujols combined to go 2 for 16 with just one RBI for the Angels.

Pujols was the one who got the 2 hits, including an absolute bomb for a home run. Trout went 0 for 6 with a strikeout and Upton went 0 for 5, which is definitely not what Angels fans expect from those two. Again, it is just Opening Day and the season is long, so there’s no reason to sound the alarms. But Trout especially looked like he was pressing really hard to make something happen up there, which is uncharacteristic of him.

2. The team looks like a team

The 2-4 hitters: 2 for 16. Everyone else: 11 for 30. The rest of the lineup picked up the slack today. Kole Calhoun went 3 for 5 with a triple and a HR. Martin Maldonado and Zack Cozart also had 3 hits, with Cozart also launching one out. It is great to see that the rest of the guys can produce and put the Angels in a position to win when the big names are having an off day. Whether or not this is the norm for the season is something to keep an eye on.

3. Ohtani is here, y’all

Ohtani swung at the first pitch he saw today and got himself a single and his first MLB hit. That was the only hit he got on the day (finished 1 for 5), but he got the most important one out of the way. It is very clear he has some adjusting to do at the plate, so I hope that Angels fans will be easy on him as he learns to hit in the Majors. But today is a good start for Ohtani at the plate, we’ll see how he does on the mound on Sunday.

4. The pitching needs some work

Garrett Richards went five innings and seemed to be in control after a rough 1st inning, but then gave up back to back HR to Davis and Olson to finish the day with four earned runs. He struck out four and walked three and threw 89 pitches. His stuff was electric, even with the control problems. The two home runs were the only mistake pitches he made all day.

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All in all, given it’s been 2 seasons since he was fully healthy, it was a good first step for Richards. The bullpen ate another 5 and a third innings today, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, it wasn’t pretty. Blake Wood did great in his inning of work. Cam Bedrosian didn’t do as well, giving up 3 hits and a run while only recording an out.

Jose Alvarez, Keynan Middleton, and Jim Johnson did fine in the box score, but it felt more like luck than outpitching the A’s. Noe Ramirez did his best but ultimately ended up with the loss due to an Upton error in LF.

Looking back on it now, this bullpen did not make me feel comfortable in the slightest. It always felt like the A’s were on the verge of blowing this game open, which is not good considering they had to work their way through 5 innings today.

One of the things the Angels needed to work on was their bullpen, but instead of going after the big names like Addison Reed and Greg Holland, they held back. I trust Eppler and company, but if every game is going to be like this, I’m going to need some medication for high blood pressure.

Next: Tyler Skaggs is the player to watch in 2018

Final Thoughts

The Angels should be 1-0 right now, but a few mistakes cost them this game. All the pieces are there to have a good season, so here’s hoping tomorrow sees the Halos come out with the victory. Tyler Skaggs is going to need a good start to give the bullpen a breather after today, so that is the main thing to keep an eye on.

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