The Stats Behind the Los Angeles Angels Losing Streak

Jun 10

From May 24 to June 9, 209 Major League Baseball games were played. The Los Angeles Angels won zero of those 209 games.

At midnight on May 24, the Angels were 27-17. The team rode a three-game winning streak and had the eighth-best winning percentage in baseball and the fourth-best in the American League. They had a +48 run differential and, thanks to their success, a 77.0% chance of making the playoffs, according to Fangraphs.

On June 9, the Angels were 27-31. They were losers of 14 straight games, a franchise record, and caused their winning percentage to drop to .46, 18th-best in baseball. They had a +8 run differential, and as a result of their failure, Fangraphs gave the team a 22.3% chance of making the playoffs.

Yes, things went that poorly.

But what goes into a 14-game skid? How have the Angels floundered this much with perhaps two of perhaps the greatest baseball players of their respective generation on their team?

Ironically and shockingly, they have failed in part of those two players. Since the losing streak began, Mike Trout touts a .152/.235/.326 slash line with a .561 OPS, two home runs, and four RBIs. His average this season has dropped from .319 to .284, and his OPS has fallen from 1.099 to .989.

Shohei Ohtani has faced similar but different struggles during the losing streak. He had a .200 average, but with five of his nine hits going for extra bases, Ohtani had a .765 OPS once the streak began. Yet where Trout’s season numbers have fallen off a cliff, Ohtani’s have remained consistent. His average only dropped from .251 to .242, and his OPS actually increased by a single point.

The more concerning stat for Ohtani is how often he was striking out. Thirty percent of Ohtani’s strikeouts this season came over the streak. He had four multiple strikeout games and had only had one game where he didn’t strike out at least.

Where Ohtani harmed the Angels the most is his pitching. In his last two starts, Ohtani had a 9.00 ERA and allowed opposing hitters to look like some of the best in the game. Literally. Opposing hitters had a .359/.390/.795 slash with a 1.185 OPS against Ohtani.

No player this season has a batting average, slugging percentage, or OPS higher than those totals. Admittedly, those numbers factor in starts against the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, yet when the team needed an ace they’ve gotten nothing.

However, Ohtani was far from the only Angels pitcher to struggle during this streak. The team’s ERA went from eighth-best in baseball to 18th-best. Their starters were tabbed with six of the team’s 14 losses and closer Raisel Iglesias has an 8.00 ERA with a pair of blown saves.

One would think there weren’t many save opportunities for Iglesias and the rest of the Angels relievers. Yet seven of their 14 losses were all by one or two runs. In other words, these are not blowouts. These are close games that Los Angeles has continually croaked in.

Even though the streak ended last night, things may be about to get worse. Trout exited Tuesday night’s game with left groin tightness and hasn’t played since, Taylor Ward, the Angels rookie star is on the IL with a hamstring strain, and Anthony Rendon has been sidelined with a wrist injury since the losing streak began.

And that’s just individual players. The Angels are about to embark on series’ against the Mets and the Dodgers, teams with the second and third-best records in baseball. The Angels do get to the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals following that but given their play, there’s no guarantee that LA is better than them.

The Angels are running out of tricks and time. They fired manager Joe Maddon on Tuesday and replaced every batters walkup song with Nickleback on Wednesday. In the AL West, the 2.5 game difference between the first-place Houston Astros and the Angels has ballooned to 9.0, while the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners are nipping on the Angels heels for second-place.

In two weeks, the Angels went from baseball’s most exciting story to its most depressing as they squander another year from their stars.