The Angels may have walked away from their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a disappointing loss, but the weekend wasn't without some encouraging signs. While the offense struggled to do enough to secure the series, Los Angeles ' pitching staff delivered one of its strongest collective performances in recent memory. From the starting rotation to the bullpen, Angels pitchers consistently kept the team within striking distance, providing a major bright spot despite the frustrating results.
The Angels' pitching staff was absolutely dominant throughout the three-game series against Pittsburgh . Los Angeles allowed just three runs across the entire series, with the Pirates scoring exactly one run in each game. Holding any major league offense to that level of production should put a team in an excellent position to win a series, if not sweep it.
Unfortunately, the Angels' offense couldn't provide nearly enough support. The pitching staff consistently kept games within reach, but Los Angeles was unable to take advantage of those opportunities at the plate. Had the offense provided even a little more production, the Angels could have easily walked away from Pittsburgh with a series victory and potentially even a sweep. Instead, an outstanding performance from the pitching staff was overshadowed by another frustrating offensive showing.
The Angels received quality starting pitching in all three games of the series, beginning with Ryan Johnson in the opener. The young right-hander delivered six innings of one run baseball, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out six. Johnson continued to show the improvements he's made over the past month, and if he can sustain this level of success, the Angels may have found another young arm capable of factoring into their future rotation.
Yusei Kikuchi followed with an even better performance in Game 2, tossing six scoreless innings while allowing five hits, walking three and striking out six. This time, the Angels' offense gave its starter plenty of support, scoring six runs and allowing Kikuchi's strong outing to result in a much needed victory
Then came arguably the best performance of the series from Walbert Urea . The right-hander was outstanding in the finale, throwing eight innings of one run baseball while surrendering just three hits, walking one and striking out four. Unfortunately, the Angels failed to score, wasting one of Urea's best performances of the season. It was a frustrating ending to a series in which all three starters did more than enough to give Los Angeles an opportunity to win.
While the starting pitchers were the biggest story of the series, the Angels' bullpen deserves just as much credit for keeping Pittsburgh's offense quiet. From top to bottom, the entire pitching staff was outstanding throughout the three games. Obviously, the Angels can't expect to allow just three runs every series, but they don't need to be this dominant to finish the season strong. If the pitching staff can continue performing at a high level and the offense can provide more consistent support, the Angels could have plenty of encouraging moments over the final weeks of the season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/angels/onsi as Why the Angels' Heartbreaking Series Loss to Pirates Is Actually a Massive Win for the Rebuild .
