Daily News 19

Tag: Los Angeles Angels

  • Mariners Lose 2-1 in Anaheim, Clinch Losing Record for 2026 Season

    Mariners Lose 2-1 in Anaheim, Clinch Losing Record for 2026 Season

    Mariners Clinch Losing Record with 2-1 Loss to Angels

    The Seattle Mariners officially secured a losing record for the 2026 season with a 2-1 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim on Tuesday. The loss marks the team’s 82nd of the year, guaranteeing a sub-.500 finish for the first time since 2020.

    Gilbert Delivers Quality Start Despite Loss

    Starting pitcher Logan Gilbert turned in a strong performance, striking out seven batters and generating 18 swings and misses over six innings. He opened the game by freezing Zach Neto with a splitter that dropped the batter to his knees. Gilbert worked around early traffic to keep the Angels scoreless through four innings, but the Angels broke through on their third trip through the lineup.

    In the fifth inning, Wade Meckler singled and came around to score on a Vaughn Grissom double. An inning later, Josh Lowe capitalized on a splitter left over the plate, driving it over the fence for a two-run lead. Those two runs accounted for all the offense Gilbert allowed.

    Mariners Offense Stalls Again

    Seattle’s lineup managed just seven hits and zero walks. The lone run came courtesy of a Dom Canzone triple that Mike Trout misplayed in center field, followed by a Julio Rodríguez double into the gap. While not the worst offensive showing of the season, the production was insufficient against a division rival.

    Bullpen Holds, but Damage Done

    Relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gabe Speier each tossed a scoreless inning for Seattle. On the Angels side, former Mariner Taylor Saucedo appeared in relief, providing a familiar face for Seattle fans.

    Series Loss Underscores Second-Half Collapse

    The Mariners dropped the three-game series to the Angels, a result that would have been unthinkable in the season’s final weeks during previous campaigns. Entering the week, Seattle ranked as the worst team in the majors by WAR since the All-Star break, trailing the 26th-place Angels by nearly four wins above replacement. Given that context, losing the series at Angel Stadium was hardly an upset.

    The upcoming road trip to Colorado shapes up as a near toss-up, though the Mariners’ recent form suggests they may enter as underdogs.

    September Schedule Exposes Deep Issues

    What looked like a favorable September slate in the preseason — a potential springboard to a second consecutive division title — has instead highlighted just how poorly the team has performed over the final months. Tuesday’s loss served as a formality, stamping a losing record on a disappointing 2026 campaign. All that remains is the season’s conclusion.

  • Mariners Clinch First Losing Season Since 2019 with Loss to Angels

    Mariners Clinch First Losing Season Since 2019 with Loss to Angels

    ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Seattle Mariners’ 2026 season officially ended in disappointment Tuesday night, as a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium locked in the franchise’s first losing record in a full 162-game season since 2019.

    Spring Training Optimism Meets Regular Season Reality

    The defeat marked the Mariners’ 82nd loss of the campaign, a stunning reversal for a team that entered the year with legitimate World Series aspirations. The contrast with February’s mood in Peoria, Arizona, could not be sharper.

    On the morning of Feb. 17, before the first full-squad workout, manager Dan Wilson previewed a message that referenced championship expectations — a first for an organization he has served for 33 years in various capacities.

    “You can’t get to the World Series with any kind of shortcut, and I think that’s the message today,” Wilson said in his morning media session.

    When pressed on the elevated bar, Wilson embraced the pressure.

    “Expectations are fine,” he said. “They can bring more noise. They can bring more distraction. It’s just a matter of keeping it simple. We’ve earned those expectations. This is a great team, and we’re going to be ready for the season.”

    A Season of Inconsistency

    Those words now ring hollow, 210 days later, before a sparsely populated crowd befitting two non-contenders. Since an eight-game winning streak from May 26 to June 2 — their only sustained surge — the Mariners have strung together three consecutive victories just twice, most recently July 18-20. They have scored one run or fewer in 34 games.

    A favorable closing schedule — 17 of 22 games against sub-.500 opponents — offered a potential lifeline. Instead, Seattle opened that stretch 4-8, extinguishing even faint playoff hopes.

    Wilson Struggles to Explain the Collapse

    After the game, a typically measured Wilson searched for words.

    “It’s difficult, it’s frustrating, all those things,” Wilson said. “It’s never a good mark to be at, and it’s not one that we expected to be at. It’s frustrating, and it’s just tough to be here at this point.”

    The spring training speech feels distant, he acknowledged.

    “This wasn’t the expectation,” Wilson said. “That’s not what any of us thought, and that’s why it’s difficult. It’s frustrating. Nobody likes to be in this spot, and it’s frustrating.”

    Gilbert Shoulders Blame, Voices Team Frustration

    Logan Gilbert delivered a quality start — six innings, two runs, six hits, two walks, seven strikeouts — but absorbed the loss after a solo home run to Josh Lowe in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie. The Mariners’ only run came in the top of the sixth, when Dom Canzone tripled and scored on a Julio Rodríguez double.

    Gilbert offered no sugarcoating.

    “There are no positives,” Gilbert said. “I lost the game for us. We lost 2-1 in a game we should’ve won and I gave up the last run.”

    The ace then spoke for a clubhouse grappling with season-long underachievement.

    “It’s really disappointing, everybody knows that, and I think the most frustrating part is that we’ve kind of been saying it all year, and everybody thought it would turn,” Gilbert said. “You play (162) games and you think things are going to turn around because we know we have a good team. But it just never really turned around. It is pretty surprising that we’re at this point. I don’t think anybody thought we’d be here, but that’s the situation we’re in.”

    Missed Opportunity in a Wide-Open AL West

    Mathematical elimination has not yet arrived, but Seattle would need to win its final 10 games for even a slender chance. The AL West’s mediocrity made the division winnable; a merely competent second half could have clinched the title on this road trip.

    “Having this many good players in the clubhouse and a division that’s wide open, like these situations are rare, and you always want to take advantage of it when you can,” Gilbert said. “High expectations, this year just hasn’t gone the way it could have, and that’s the most frustrating part about it.”

    Those expectations were grounded in 2025’s 90-win season and a returning core. The players bought in completely.

    “I think everybody showed up to spring not trying to convince ourselves that we’re that good,” Gilbert said. “We truly believed it. Like we’ve seen it. We’ve seen proof of it. That’s another frustrating part. It’s not just me saying it. It’s not guys saying it. I think we came into spring knowing we are that good. We can be that good.”

    Accountability and an Uncertain Offseason

    The disconnect between belief and performance defines the 2026 Mariners.

    “You see the way we played this year,” Gilbert said. “We were just waiting for it to turn around, and it never quite did. It’s on us, you know. At the end of the day, that’s the reality of it. We need to be accountable and know that we have to execute better. Things have to change. We have to have those conversations and figure it out.”

    Mariners Records Under Jerry Dipoto

    Year Record Notes
    2025 90-72 AL West winner
    2024 85-77
    2023 88-74
    2022 90-72 Second wild card
    2021 90-72
    2020 27-33 Shortened season
    2019 68-94 Rebuild begins
    2018 86-76
    2017 78-84
    2016 86-76
    2015 76-86
  • Angels Defeat Mariners 2-1 in Game Recap (Sept. 15, 2026)

    Angels Defeat Mariners 2-1 in Game Recap (Sept. 15, 2026)

    Ryan Johnson delivered six strong innings and Josh Lowe provided the decisive blow with a tiebreaking home run as the Los Angeles Angels edged the Seattle Mariners 2-1 on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

    Johnson Earns Career-Milestone Victory

    Johnson (5-8) allowed just one run on six hits while striking out seven and walking none. The right-hander secured consecutive starts for the first time in his career, lowering his season ERA in the process. Vaughn Grissom drove in the game’s first run with an RBI double in the fifth inning.

    Gilbert Strong in Loss for Seattle

    Logan Gilbert (12-10) matched Johnson inning for inning, surrendering two runs on six hits over six frames with seven strikeouts. The outing marked Gilbert’s first start since becoming the first Seattle pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts in consecutive starts since 2018.

    Fifth-Inning Breakthrough Decides Pitchers’ Duel

    The Angels broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth. Wade Meckler led off with a two-out single and came around to score on Grissom’s double to left field. Seattle answered immediately in the sixth when Dominic Canzone tripled to left and scored on Julio Rodríguez’s one-out double to left-center.

    Lowe restored the Angels’ advantage in the bottom half, launching his 12th home run of the season — a one-out shot to right-center off Gilbert.

    Bullpen Bridges Gap to Watson Save

    Tayler Saucedo followed Johnson with a scoreless seventh. José Fermín navigated a dangerous eighth inning, escaping unscathed after taking a comebacker off the foot from Canzone that resulted in a groundout. Ryan Watson worked a clean ninth inning to notch his third save of the season and second since joining the Angels.

    Mariners Clinch Losing Record

    The defeat dropped Seattle to 70-82, guaranteeing the franchise’s first losing record in a full 162-game season since 2019. The Mariners also posted a sub-.500 mark during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. After falling one win shy of the World Series last October, Seattle now sits on the brink of playoff elimination.

    Series Finale Wednesday Night

    The three-game set concludes Wednesday with a marquee pitching matchup: Mariners right-hander George Kirby (9-11, 4.25 ERA) opposes Angels lefty Yusei Kikuchi (1-5, 4.75). First pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET.

  • Where Mike Trout’s Contract Ranks Among Baseball’s Worst After the 2026 Season

    Where Mike Trout’s Contract Ranks Among Baseball’s Worst After the 2026 Season

    For a brief stretch this season, it was easy to believe Mike Trout’s massive contract extension might not become a long-term problem for the Los Angeles Angels. He was hitting home runs at Yankee Stadium, walking more often than he struck out and playing center field. He looked like the version of Trout Angels fans had not seen in years.

    Then Trout injured his hamstring and returned to the injured list. The familiar questions resurfaced. That has become the defining pattern of his career: His talent has never been in doubt, and it still appears periodically. Trout continues to show why he received one of the largest contracts in baseball history, but his body also explains why the deal is not aging particularly well.

    After this season, Trout will still be owed four years and just under $142 million. His contract runs through his age-38 season in 2030. He remains capable of doing several things well, but that is a substantial amount for the Angels to pay a declining player.

    Mike Trout is still an above-average hitter

    Even in his age-34 season and despite his extensive injury history, Trout remains a productive player. He is walking more often than he has since 2021. His strikeout rate has been elevated for several years, but it remains manageable. He has an OPS in the .800s and a weighted runs created plus (wRC+) around 130, meaning he is still producing at a rate well above the league average.

    That production remains, although it is no longer at the level Trout reached during his peak. Comparing him with that version of himself is inherently difficult because his prime was among the best in baseball history. His contact quality is still elite, even though he has not sustained his hot start, when he approached a 1.000 OPS during the first month of the season.

    Trout’s defense and injury history are the concern

    The problems are emerging elsewhere. Trout moved back to center field this year, but the defensive results have not been strong. He has recorded minus-7 Outs Above Average (OAA) and minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Trout was not effective in right field last season, but the numbers were at least better during his limited time there.

    He remains fast, although his speed has declined from elite in his younger years to very good. That is a byproduct of a body that has endured thumb, calf, back and other issues. The injuries have formed a pattern. His hamstring injury did not keep him out for long, but it is the latest addition to that history.

    Trout turned 35 earlier this month. That is not particularly old by human standards, but it is an advanced age for a baseball player.

    How Trout’s contract compares with other MLB deals

    Trout’s contract could be worse, but few deals currently rank below it. The true bottom tier belongs to players who provide little or no production.

    Kris Bryant will have two years and $52 million remaining on his contract after this season. He has made only 712 plate appearances in four years with the Colorado Rockies while appearing in just 170 games. Javier Baez is not in quite as difficult a position because he is down to the final year of his contract in 2027 at $24 million, but his deal has been a disaster for the Detroit Tigers. The Angels do not even need to look outside their own clubhouse: Anthony Rendon’s contract is one of the worst in baseball history.

    Those are essentially dead-money contracts. Trout is nowhere near that category because he still produces when he is on the field. That is why his deal is not truly among the worst in baseball. However, it is beginning to resemble the contracts of former MVPs such as Corey Seager and Bryce Harper, although the risks are different in each case.

    Seager is about halfway through the 10-year contract he signed with the Texas Rangers before the 2021 lockout. He will earn $31 million annually during the final five seasons, for a total of $155 million. He has played more than 123 games only once in the first five years of the deal and will barely surpass 100 games for the second consecutive season if he plays in all of Texas’ remaining games.

    Seager suffered a concussion in June, his latest injury, but his declining production is an even greater concern for the Rangers. He is hitting .224/.321/.413, leaving the team with both a durability problem and a production problem.

    Harper’s situation is different. He has been relatively healthy over the past few seasons and is on track to play most of the games this year. His risk is primarily positional. Harper moved to first base in 2023 to protect his elbow, but he has returned to right field to accommodate the Philadelphia Phillies’ trade-deadline acquisition of Luis Arraez.

    That change carries some risk, even if it lasts only a few months. Harper has also shifted from being an elite hitter to being a very good one, and that could change again as he gets older.

    The risk of paying superstar money

    Trout’s contract probably belongs in the same general range as the deals held by Kyle Tucker, Framber Valdez, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, Mookie Betts, Christian Yelich and Trea Turner. If those teams could escape their contracts, they would, but the deals are not in the same category as the contracts of Bryant, Baez or Xander Bogaerts.

    The calculation is broadly the same for all of them. Teams pay superstar money for a version of a player they are not guaranteed to receive during the second half of a long-term contract. That is not Trout’s fault, nor is it the fault of other stars whose large deals have not worked out as planned. Nobody forced Trout to suffer injuries, and nobody should begrudge him for accepting a massive contract when it was offered.

    The Angels understood the risk. With few exceptions, when teams sign players to long-term contracts, they also assume responsibility for the post-peak years. Los Angeles now has four more years of Trout and can only hope he spends more time on the field than off it. He can still hit when he plays. The Angels must find a way to keep him healthy for the remaining four years and make the most of his production when he is available.

    Source: halohangout.com

  • Gerrit Cole Starts for Yankees Against Angels in Anaheim

    Gerrit Cole Starts for Yankees Against Angels in Anaheim

    When Gerrit Cole takes the mound at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees will be seeking more than another strong performance from their ace. With the season entering a critical stage, Cole represents stability for a team fighting to improve its position in the American League East and secure a favorable postseason path.

    New York enters Tuesday trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in a tightly contested division race. After rookie Elmer Rodríguez started Monday’s series opener and before Cam Schlittler is scheduled to pitch later in the week, Cole provides a proven presence in the middle of the Yankees’ rotation.

    The Yankees also begin a six-game road trip through Anaheim and San Diego with a reinforced pitching staff. Left-hander Max Fried was activated from the injured list Friday, giving New York a more complete rotation as the club enters the final stretch of the regular season.

    Gerrit Cole returns to peak form

    Tuesday will mark Cole’s 18th start since he returned from Tommy John surgery, which kept him out for the entire 2025 campaign. Although recovering pitchers often face workload limitations, the 35-year-old right-hander has increasingly resembled his best self in the second half, describing his late-season outlook as having a “fresh set of tires.”

    The start also falls on the fifth anniversary of one of Cole’s finest outings. In 2021, he struck out 15 batters in a dominant performance on the same Angel Stadium mound.

    Cole enters Tuesday with a 7-7 record, a 3.19 ERA and 105 strikeouts over 98 2/3 innings. He has held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in each of his past 10 starts, posting a 2.66 ERA during that span.

    During that run, Cole struck out eight Orioles to reach 1,015 strikeouts as a Yankee, moving past Roger Clemens, who had 1,014, for 12th place on the franchise’s all-time strikeout list.

    Yankees ace seeks another quality start

    Cole took a hard-luck 5-1 loss against the Houston Astros on Thursday after allowing three runs over six innings, including two costly wall-scrapers. However, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the final line did not reflect how well his ace pitched.

    Cole threw 59 of his 79 pitches for strikes and came within one pitch of recording a sixth consecutive start in which he allowed two runs or fewer.