Blowouts are easy to write. Not fun. But easy. This pathetic team got blitzed in the first inning and then did not even attempt to comeback at all. Not that I really blame them. Well, I blame Jack, that was horrible. But everyone else, well, Baseball is a marathon. The hitters have to go do this again tomorrow, and the bullpen has to as well.
Speaking of Jack though, the Jack of 1 K got his 1 k. And 6 ER. And 6 hits and a walk allowed in his 1/3 of a first inning. That Suter came in to give up a home run to Ohtani did not help at all. If we ignore that horrible, no good, very bad inning, the game was a lot like last night’s, a pitching duel of sorts between one of the best SP in baseball, and the Angels bullpen. Honestly, even if the Dodgers are phoning it in after the 1st, this is surprisingly decent all things considered. You know, besides that 1st inning.
Highlighted Recap
Oswald was a lucky rabbit today with a triple in the first.
It was all downhill from here.
But, uh, well, the nightmare of a first ended rather smoothly?
And Trout made a decent catch
Oh and Adell made one too.
Oh and Neto had a meaningless 9th inning solo shot.
That was it for the Angels though, and frankly, that was less ugly this way. Having all that ugly pitching in 1 video helps, but jeez, this was embarrassing. Neto is not looking good, the bats are ice cold, the pitching is… bleh. And once again, the Angels score 2 or fewer runs. 33rd time this season, the team is 24-41 in 2026. We may be watching the worst Angel team of all time.
Upcoming
Angels vs Dodgers game 6 tomorrow, and Angels will need a miracle to avoid getting season swept this year.
Another classic slugfest between Georgia and Mississippi State this afternoon – tied 9-9 going into the bottom of the ninth.
Jacob Parker hit his second homerun of the game – an absolute moonshot to centerfield – to keep MSU’s season alive, then SEC player of the year Dan Jackson hit an equally epic HR in the top of the tenth to put Georgia ahead.
MSU needs a lifeline here.
Georgia pulls it off and the Dogs go to Omaha for the first time since 2008.
Dan Jackson the hero with his 31st HR of the year. Would the Angels draft The Rhino? He might be there for the taking, if you believe he’s not just a Georgia Mirage….
As injuries mount, this team fades because of a lack of depth. We might be on pace for 60 wins right now, but think of August and September, and we are probably looking at somewhere between 52 and 55 wins. Sell the team, Arte!
Minasian is great at his job tanking us.
Jettisoning Wash was the master stroke – there went 15 wins right there.
See the Zach Neto thread below – just another data point.
🤣
That’s the spirit
Every mlb team is in double figures in saves this season, with exception of Halos. So far, this is the worst bullpen in Angel team history.
Other than Jordan Romano, who had four saves, the entire Angels bullpen has a grand total of two saves through 65 games.
Do we have more blown saves than saves? Too GA (rip) to look it up
Detroit BS: 16 Saves: 12
Was BS: 16 Saves: 20
KC BS: 13 Saves: 17
Angels BS: 13 Saves: 6
Pit BS: 13 Saves: 13
A’s BS: 12 Saves: 19
CWS BS: 11 Saves: 19
Cincy BS: 11 Saves: 14
Sea BS: 11 Saves: 14
Tor BS: 11 Saves: 18
With Det being the only other team with more blown saves than saves (negative 4) and the Angels are negative 7, the Angels are the worst pen in baseball. Its remarkably bad that the relief pitcher who had the most saves on the team by double, was himself lousy enough to get released, and the remainder line of relief lousyness could only muster two, TWO, saves through 65 games. The bullpen has had 19 save opportunities in 65 games. If, say, they would have saved 14 of the 19 opportunities, the team would be at 32-33 at this point, and in the thick of AL Race for first place in a weak division. The dreg bullpen has mostly cost the team to be legitimately competitive this season. And it’s hard to factor in how demoralizing it must be to the rest of the team to experience the on going late game collapses. Case in point, the first game of this Dodger series. Detmer pitched his ass off, and one batter faces Yates, boom game over. The most crushing losses, imo, this season were the two late inning blown saves at Yankee Stadium. A freakin’ four game sweep was right there, but it went kablooie
Neto, second worst SS defensively in MLB
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/outs_above_average?type=Fielder&startYear=2026&endYear=2026&split=yes&team=&range=year&min=q&pos=6&roles=&viz=hide
Defensive metrics are less than ideal but have been improving. Be that as it may, Neto is not having a very good year with the glove and his defensive play is also compounded by mental mistakes. He has a been thrown out trying to steal almost as often as he’s been successful. He’s really cost his team a lot of runs. He needs to get it out his system and get back on track.
Bobby Grich came here as a gold glove 2B and his 1st year here he had a rough time defensively and was booed. Neto will be alright, but he’s having a rough year.
And he has the 5th most strikeouts in mlb.
Im much slower to anoint than most here but I’ve never been a Neto fan so it’s easy to look for things I don’t like. Should be batting in the bottom of the lineup and possibly not even be a SS at this point. Angels are doing him no favors but I’ve been out and will continue to be out on Neto. Work ethic, less talk about swag, salsa dancing and video games could swing the tide but I’m here and he’s there so no doubt Neto could give a shit.
He’s too small to be playing ss. He needs to be at 2nd to benefit his short arms and and inaccurate throws.
Major League Baseball (MLB) starting shortstops feature a wide range of heights, averaging around 6′ 1″. Notable starting shortstops for the 2026 season showcase this variance:
Zach Neto is listed as being 5′ 11″.
Good stuff
So really 5’9” with cleats… and not even close to the greatness that was David Eckstein
5′ 9″ with cleats and hair puffed up
5 head doesn’t have any hair
All those guys have strong arms to improve their range. Neto has great range to catch pop ups, but lots of times if he has a great diving play the runner ends up safe.
Mind telling me where you’re getting Neto’s stats improving?
https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/zach-neto-687263?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb
Every year his defensive metrics have gotten worse. Even for being an average hitter, I think some of those stats come like last night’s game… solo HR in top of the 9th down 9-1. Meaningless.
I don’t recall saying that
You could be seeing something I’m not. I’m not a stat nerd, in fact I usually use them only if it will reinforce something I’m trying to say. And even when stats won’t, I’ll manipulate the splits until I find what I’m after 🤪
Sorry I meant defense metrics in general not Netos defensive metrics. Ways to measure defense have improved.
You can’t chase wins every game….just in 36.9% of the games.
I grew up in West L.A. as an Angels fan and have been coming to Dodger Stadium since interleague play started in 1997. I’ve always loved the atmosphere in Chavez Ravine. I definitely wouldn’t say I always felt safe, but the energy was very different from the Big A.
I’m taking my daughter to her first Freeway Series tomorrow, and I am fooking dreading it. Low-key, I’m kind of hoping the Dodgers fans are complete Cee U Next Tuesdays so I can bring my sweet girl back from the Evil Empire. But we’re such a pathetic pile of garbage that I feel guilty trying to spin some yarn about the importance of suffering and the coercive, deleterious effects of being a bandwagon, d-riding fan of a winning team.
Pray for me. At least if I get assaulted with brain damage, I won’t have the cognitive ability to suffer through watching the worst team in Angels history. 🤷♂️.
I’ve been there numerous times in an Angels jersey. Doyers fans are fine. It’s fun there IMO.
Silent C(rap) with another banner performance.
Mike Trout is free falling. Ugh.
Yeah, it’s never been that bad. Had shit thrown on us in the games where we are smashing. The likelihood for that scenario is slim. We’ll probably be boarding the Dodgers express for home by the 7th…
Same. I’ve had batteries and nickels thrown my way (I successfully called a ST freeway series Vladdy HR) but fortunately for me I’m usually 6+ inches and at least 50 more pounds of muscle than anyone else that’s loud as a motorbike but couldnt bust a grape in a fruit fight
I’ve been to Chavez Ravine a bunch and it’s always fine. Your biggest threat will be what the Angels do to your mental health while your there lol.
Hope you and your daughter have a wonderful time! At least you’re going to a Soriano start and have a chance to see a win 👼🏼
Thanks. I haven’t been back to Dodger Stadium for a Freeway Series since 2018. I hear it’s not as spicy these days since they’ve priced the working-class families out.
Non-affordability and safety aren’t mutually exclusive? Arte lies???
Hopefully Soriano can get his increasingly flat sinker to actually sink.
I feel more safe at stadiums then I do walking the public streets of California knowing a homeless tweeker can pop out of a bush and stab me at any moment.
😳
The least safe I’ve ever felt at any stadium is in San Francisco, where those people just hate anyone and anything from Los Angeles. I saw Tim Salmon sister being assaulted during the World Series and I stepped in to prevent that. I just won’t go to that stadium anymore, even when I go anonymously as someone not from Los Angeles.
24-41 projects to 60-102. We are now 40% of the way through the season
Right on schedule
Yup. This team’s just not very good. But we can finally say we’ve seen “the really bad time” and not be full of shit about it. I wonder when Arte will lose interest in this soon….
We’re all rubbing are nips in anticipation. T
LOL
This might be the last we see of Silent K in awhile. He’s probably getting sent down after this one and deservedly so.
Turned it off after the 1st inning. No regrets.
He needs to go…
I took a shit today that had more Offense than the Angels.
Kinda bummed that Neto hit that homerun. He’s just going to continue to swing out of his shoes instead of trying to get on base.
my thoughts, too. I came here to say just that.
So close to winning that game. Just needed a 9 run 9th inning!