Mike Fiers (1-0; 5.63 ERA; 5Ks; 1.31 WHIP) vs. Dylan Bundy (2-1; 2.08 ERA; 25Ks; 0,60 WHIP) was tonight’s pitching matchup.
You know how there’s usually “that one” inning – tonight it was for the Halos. And now, I present to you, the bottom of the 4th:
Rendon has been looking good and had a multi-hit game including this home run to start the home run rally:
The Angels, as of the 4th inning were tied in the league with most home runs with the Twins and Yankees. Jason Castro must have heard it and wanted the Angels to have the lead the league in Home Runs and took it into his own hands. 104.2 MPH exit velocity.
Goodwin wanted in on this hit-fest 4th inning and hit this beauty.
Angels take over the MLB AL Leaderboard for most Team HRs, and after David Fletcher’s 6th inning blast, and tie the Padres for overall Team HRs (32). See? Baseball can be fun!!
David Fletcher?
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 12, 2020
Yes, David Fletcher. pic.twitter.com/ELflxUvmOr
Even with all this run support, Dylan Bundy was SOLID. He improved upon his already Ace-worthy stats. The 7th inning was Bundy’s 12th straight scoreless inning and he has only given up one run over his last 21 innings. This was his second straight game with 10 Ks.
Line for the night and overall ERA:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pitches | ERA | |
| Dylan Bundy | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 103 | 1.57 |
Is it possible to clone Dylan Bundy? Asking for a friend.
— Crashing the Pearly Gates (@CrashingtheG) August 12, 2020
Mike Mayers and Hansel Robles finished off the A’s and finished off the SHUT OUT.
Halos have already won this series, will they sweep? We’ll see you for tomorrow’s game!
photo credit: Jeff Chiu (AP)
This team has been playing with my emotions. That sweep to the Rangers was brutal but it looks like the bats have caught fire a bit so let’s keep this going. And also.. Bundy, wow. Amazing what happens when we don’t have to rely on the bullpen.
who needs uppers and downers when the Angels are our very own drug that gives us a ride all summer long…
Celebrate the win!
So. Much. Manliness.
Remember when we all wanted Gerrit Cole, for the measley sum of all the money? It was before the plague times. It was before Bundy + Callaway.
Well, that said, in an alternate world where we signed Cole AND traded for Bundy, that would have been one helluva 1-2 punch! Cole, Bundy, Heaney, and Canning would be a fantastic playoff rotation 😉
But, that said – if that happened, no Rendon, and I’d say Rendon is very key to our offense. Even though he had a very slow offensive start, he STILL has posted an fWAR of 0.7 due to his fantastic defense and strong BB%, and that’s even with missing the first 4 games.
So, all things considered, I’d say Rendon + Bundy > Cole.
Most dominant win of 2020. Pitching, hitting, it was pretty much all there last night. Let’s hope it can keep going.
Baseball is weird. Coming into this series it looked like a sweep was on tap. 😇👍.
Looks like it still might be.
Great arms, great bats and voila…..a great game.
Curious what y’all think about the lineup Maddon is using these days?
He seems to have settled on the Fletcher/LaStella combo as 1/2, with Trout, Rendon, and Ohtani 3-5.
I know most metrics say to have your best hitter hit 2nd, but I do like the idea of Fletcher and LaStella preceding Trout, as both are really good at getting on base (good, patient hitters).
A lineup of Fletcher SS, LaStella 2B, Trout CF, Rendon 3B, Ohtani DH, Pujols 1B, Castro/Stassi C, Adell RF, Goodwin/Upton LF seems pretty stellar to me (with Pujols being suboptimal, but we are just never going to get around that).
On Pujols “rest” days (of which there should be a good amount), then perhaps LaStella slides to 1B and Rengifo hits, such that we see: Fletcher SS, LaStella 1B, Trout CF, Rendon 3B, Ohtani DH, Castro/Stassi C, Goodwin/Upton LF, Adell RF, Rengifo 2B.
I had a pause at first with La Stella batting 2nd, but I’m liking it. A nice right/left combo of pretty good OBP guys in front of Trout. And with Upton not hitting, moving him down in the order (or whoever is playing left) isn’t a big deal
Yeah – same. I like Trout hitting second, but LaStella is rather good in drawing walks and making contact. He has an absurdly low K rate, so I think there’s a definite advantage to him hitting at the top of the lineup.
Fletcher, LaStella, Trout, Rendon, and Ohtani are a fantastic starting 5 at the top. Even beyond them, Castro/Stassi look like a strong offensive combo (who would have thought) at catcher. We’ll inevitably be stuck with Pujols indefinitely, and Upton will get his share of ABs, but at least they are low enough in the lineup such that it should be less of an issue.
I hate it because Pujols is right after Ohtani. The more hitters between the meat of the lineup and Pujols, the better. La Stella should slide behind Ohtani.
Well – in that regard, ideally, we could have either Castro or Goodwin hitting behind Ohtani, with Pujols 7th.
So, in a more ideal setting, vs RHP: Fletcher SS, LaStella 2B, Trout CF, Rendon 3B, Ohtani DH, Goodwin LF, Pujols 1B, Castro C, Adell RF.
Once Adell looks like he is adjusting and producing, that lineup could be tweaked further:
Fletcher SS, LaStella 2B, Trout CF, Rendon 3B, Ohtani DH, Adell RF, Goodwin LF, Pujols 1B, Castro C.
If Adell can produce ~800-850 OPS out of that spot, then that is one helluva lineup!
I wonder what is going to happen when Simba comes back. Seems like Pujols is going to lose out. Can’t bench Fletch, but putting La Stella at 2nd over Fletch is criminal. The only place to put La Stella is at 1st.
The OF is already crowded. Don’t really want to put Fletch out there, but we could and that would really cut into Upton’s playing time, but at a big hit to the infield defense.
Joe really has his work cut out for him to keep Upton, Pujols and probably Simba happy with limited playing time going forward. Lots of defensive vs offensive trade offs to work through.
I would say that they should probably play Simba in that he will be a free agent this offseason. If we really want to “do him right,” so to speak, he’ll be given opportunities to play.
Pujols and Upton are different. They already landed their mega contracts and, almost assuredly, will not get a significant one of note after this one (100% for Pujols, seems likely for JUp too).
If money were not a factor, I’d play Simba at SS, Fletcher at 2B, and mainly use LaStella at 1B and live with some of the defensive miscues there.
Pujols would largely sit (maybe 2 starts per week or so), and Upton will just start against LHP. That won’t happen, but at least that is what I would do, if salary and politics were not a factor.
Wow! I have to say, what an incredible find Bundy has been. He is truly pitching like an ace pitcher.
We had a terrible start to the season, but the offense was basically running cold that entire time. This team has too much offensive talent to continue to run cold, so I have some hope that what we have seen the last 2 games is a sign of good things to come.
I can’t believe we are just 1 game out of a playoff spot even after how miserable of a start we have had. That said, if we can somehow qualify for the playoffs, I have to say, a rotation of Bundy, Heaney, and Canning in the first round .. I like our chances!
Yeah, Bundy has been a very nice surprise. I for one did not see this coming. I think we have to start talking about Mickey Calloway and how amazing he has been in his short time here; his philosophy and approach have transformed our SP.
I guess Joe knows what he is doing in hiring a pitching cosch. Callaway’s focus on working quickly and throwing strikes really helps — the hitters never have time to get comfortable at the plate. Before they know they are down 0-2 or 1-2 in the count and are forced to swing at or hit a pitchers pitch.
As for Bundy, he had decent stuff in Baltimore but a losing atomosphere. . I talked to an O’s fan at the Big A a couple years back and Bundy was his favorite guy on the team. Now he’s ours. But I do think we need to give Callaway ALOT of credit.
Now, if he can only find a way to get the relievers to buy in.
Someone needs to tell the relievers the following:
Another factoid that speaks to just how weird this season is:
With only 42 games left to play, the Angels are tied for the 4th worst record in baseball.
They are also only one game out of the playoffs.
Per Fangraphs, as of tonight’s performance, Dylan Bundy leads the MLB in WAR among starting pitchers.
WUT?
I was ecstatic when we acquired Bundy, but I could’ve never predicted this. WOW!
August 10th
The Bullpen is finding itself, the starters are decent with one other worldly, the hitting has erupted and with power. With Fletch, Trouty and BGood and Noodles being consistent we have Rendon and Ohtani now blasting away. Albert is as good as he can be expected with the bat and even better in the field and Adell starting to show life we could very well light it up every night for the run to the Playoffs. Go Angels.
The fact that we are just 1 game out of the playoffs despite how poorly we have started is very encouraging. The offense was absolutely terrible for awhile, but there’s just way too much offensive talent to continue to play poorly – and as things have turned out, we have started to hit better now.
The SP has been quite a positive on the whole. The bullpen will likely be mediocre, but no team is perfect. Since the vast majority of our games are against the ALW, we just need to continue to beat the teams near us in the standings to claim that 2nd ALW spot.
Dylan Bundy. That is all.
A win streak??? Is this real life?
I call it a landslide.
7-11 sounds a great deal better than 5-11
They got cold beer too.
And slurpees
Sounds better. Feels better. Is better.
They also deliver.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but Dylan Bundy seems to be a pretty decent arm.
Extend him!
Annnnnnd he sucks.
Don’t let him hang out with Trouty, he will go and get fat and everything.