ANAHEIM — As the Angels limp to the end of the season, the positive spin will undoubtedly be to point to their improvement over last year.
The Angels, who were 72-88 heading into the penultimate game of the season on Saturday night, are guaranteed to win at least nine more games than when they were 63-99 in 2024.
That is misleading, though.
“If we said we’re nine or 10 games better, we shouldn’t use that as the benchmark, because wins and losses that we’re judging right now aren’t the ultimate decider of that,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said.
While the record is obviously the ultimate metric that determines whether you make the playoffs or not, for all the teams that don’t make the playoffs, there are other ways to evaluate how good a team is and how much better it needs to be.
The Angels came into Saturday’s game with a run differential of minus-155, which is 45 runs worse than the second-worst team in the American League. In the National League, the only worse teams are the Colorado Rockies (minus-420) and Washington Nationals (minus-204).
In 2024, the Angels’ run differential was minus-162.
This year’s team won more games primarily because of a 28-21 record in one-run games. Last year, the Angels were 22-26 in one-run games.
The overall OPS improved from .671 to .698, but the ERA slipped from 4.57 to 4.87. The strikeout rate for the hitters got worse, from 24% to 27%, while the walk rate stayed the same. For the pitchers, the strikeout and walk rates both remained almost the same.
Before Friday’s game, Montgomery acknowledged the flaws, without discounting that they are improving. He also said a rash of injuries late in the season has contributed to their September slide.
“It depends on where you’re looking for the progress,” Montgomery said. “The wins and losses are a little bit better. I don’t want to discount that. Winning 70 or winning 72 doesn’t feel like it’s progress in any way. But coming off of last year and where we’re trying to get to, I think you could look at some of the health and wellness and rosters we’ve been putting out at different times.”
The Angels have indeed limped to the end with an injury-ravaged roster. Shortstop Zach Neto missed the last three weeks. First baseman Nolan Schanuel missed about a month. Relievers Reid Detmers and Robert Stephenson were gone at the end. Starters Tyler Anderson and José Soriano also didn’t make it through the end of the season.
“The disappointing thing is that it’s not getting to the finish line necessarily the way we would have liked,” Montgomery said, “with a chance to be in some environments and play against some teams that are going to the postseason.”
On the bright side, Montgomery said the Angels saw a core of players further establish themselves.
“There’s a tangible core,” Montgomery said. “You can say, if we build around this core and we add to it with the right type of players, and certainly you have to have depth to the ends of the earth, I think there’s a good chance that this team is a lot better position a year from now.”
SILSETH’S PERFORMANCE
Right-hander Chase Silseth, who was on the injured list in the minors for much of the season, has helped put himself back on the radar with his performance since he’s been back in the majors.
Silseth has a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings, with 13 strikeouts. On Friday night, he pitched a perfect inning, with two strikeouts. The Houston Astros whiffed on six of their 10 swings against him, including four of five against his sweeper.
“I think last night was pretty indicative of the best we’ve seen of him,” Montgomery said.
Silseth, 25, still could factor into the Angels’ rotation plans, although the bullpen seems more likely. He’ll be out of options next season.
NOTES
The Angels placed right-hander Luis Garcia on the injured list because of an oblique strain. They recalled left-hander Sammy Peralta. …
Catcher Travis d’Arnaud (concussion) has shown significant improvement this week. “He took some swings in the age,” Montgomery said. “He’s moving a lot better. He’s feeling a lot better.” D’Arnaud, who has been diagnosed with five concussions, in his career, is not permitted to speak to the media while he’s on the concussion list. Montgomery said he’s heard nothing from d’Arnaud suggesting that the latest concussion would impact d’Arnaud’s future. D’Arnaud, 36, is signed through next season. …
The season finale on Sunday will start at 12:07 p.m., which is about an hour earlier than normal. Major League Baseball schedules all the games to start at roughly the same time on the final day so no team gets a competitive advantage in games that have an impact on the final standings.
UP NEXT
Astros (TBD) at Angels (LHP Sam Aldegheri, 0-1, 8.00), Sunday, 12:07 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM