LA Angels Monday News Crash: Intentional Balk

Angels revel in takedown of rival Dodgers: ‘We just swept the best in baseball’

By: Sam Blum

Perhaps there was something symbolic about Shohei Ohtani swinging through the final strike of the Angels’ 6-4 win on Sunday — a sweep-clinching strikeout.
There’s no forgiving the all-time bungling of a once-in-a-lifetime talent. That stain will live on the Angels’ ledger for eternity. But sweeping his new team, and ending it with the bat in his hands, at least gives the downtrodden Angels a feeling that there might finally be something coming after him.

“Just a dogfight, all three games, high stress. And we prevailed all three games,” said Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who hit what was ultimately the game-winning, tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning.

“It’s really special, against last year’s world champions.

The Dodgers and their fans have had just about every bragging right over this extremely one-sided rivalry. They have full ballparks populated by celebrity fans, a billion-dollar roster, international appeal and, most importantly, a World Series ring.
The Angels, on the other hand, have 10 straight losing seasons, including a franchise-record worst 99 losses in 2024. Even their most die-hard fans are experiencing the unavoidable apathy of perpetual losing.

Three wins don’t change that. But it does provide a blueprint and, at the very least, a sign of hope that their budding young core can be legitimate contributors and that there is a trajectory to win at this level.

“It means a lot when you sweep any team, not just the Dodgers,” said Angels manager Ron Washington. “But what happened there these last three days; all the credit goes to those players. They played very well.”

In one sense, he’s right. Sweeping anyone is great. And it’s just the middle of May — another series in a six-month season full of the peaks and valleys that have already defined this Angels season.

But the significance of beating the Dodgers, with a fan base that has delightfully danced on the crosstown rivals’ grave annually, does mean something. It does not mean the Angels are better than the Dodgers, who are amid a spate of pitching injuries. And it does not mean the Angels are back, so to speak.

Still, it does mean something.

The Angels are so often compared to the Dodgers in the context of all the things they don’t do. They don’t spend as much, invest in staff and develop players. All fair criticisms that aren’t erased by the sweep. But man, this weekend, they could see how they stack up between the white lines. And it was lopsided, but not in the way anyone would have expected.
“It’s tremendous. Every game here felt like a playoff atmosphere,” d’Arnaud said. “And it felt like everybody was passing the baton. Good at-bats, up and down.”

The Angels started this season red hot, going 9-5 over their first two weeks. Then the collapse hit, and it was bad. An 8-20 record over more than a month. It didn’t feel like a slump. It felt like reality hitting a team that wasn’t equipped to win.

This weekend won’t erase that, or all of the offensive, defensive and pitching stats that still rank the Angels near the worst in baseball. These three games, however, can give some measure of confidence.

As starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi said pretty matter-of-factly, after his 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball: “We just swept the best in baseball.”

In the bullpen on Sunday, the Angels had nothing left. Kenley Jansen was down, so was Hector Neris, Ryan Zeferjahn and Reid Detmers. José Fermin went on the injured list earlier in the day. All the Angels had to pitch was Shaun Anderson, Connor Brogdon and Hunter Strickland — journeyman relievers who signed minor-league contracts.

And all the Angels had to do was navigate the final 3 1/3 innings against the Dodgers — a lineup featuring three MVP winners and a slew of other players that are notably not on minor-league contracts.

If the Angels and Dodgers played this simulation 100 times, it’s likely the Angels don’t win many of those games. But on this day, Anderson rose to the occasion.
He walked off the mound, expressionless, following the win. Ohtani walked back to the dugout. And a stunned silence fell over a stadium that’s used to the dulcet sounds of Randy Newman after its games end.

The Angels haven’t overtaken the Dodgers. But they earned a weekend to remember. A span of three days, they hope, is the inflection point for a franchise in desperate need of one.

“I mean, they’re the Dodgers,” Anderson said. “But we come in here and sweep them, it shows what the Angels have.”