Angels May Have Worst Record In American League, But At Least Mike Trout Is Back
The Los Angeles Angels had a good, competitive start to the season but lost 10 of its last 11 games and were swept by the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox to end the month of April.
At 12-20, the Angels are now tied for the worst record in the American League and are just one-and-a-half games ahead of the New York Mets for last place in Major League Baseball. Coincidentally, these two teams open a three-game series in Anaheim beginning Friday, and both teams really need to win the series to build any sort of momentum to get May started off on the right foot.
The Angels are calling upon its 22-year-old right-hander, Walbert Urena , to battle Mets right-hander Christian Scott in the series opener. Both guys have struggled, but both are young pitchers who are making their third and second starts this season, respectfully.
Urena is 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA and 2.21 WHIP in four appearances (two starts, 11.1 innings) and his first start was impressive: six innings, four hits, two runs, two walks and eight strikeouts against the San Diego Padres . His second start wasn’t good, though, and he was pulled in the fourth inning after allowing four runs on six hits and five walks while fanning three batters against the Royals.
Scott didn’t record a decision in his first start but was removed after just 1.1 innings after walking five batters and walking in a run against the Minnesota Twins . It was Scott’s first appearance in MLB since 2024 and the nerves likely impacted his control in that contest.
Scott will be facing a lineup that has surprisingly been solid to begin the season, and it’s mostly because of the career "renaissance" of three-time Most Valuable Player Mike Trout . Trout has battled injuries for much of the last five seasons but played 130 games last season, his most since 2019.
Although his numbers were down compared to what they usually are when he’s healthy, it was encouraging to see him on the field playing baseball.
“But in 2026, Trout looks like vintage Trout,” MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote Friday. “He leads the AL in runs and walks, he has 10 homers, he has his highest OBP since his MVP season of 2019, his OPS is at .999 (above his career mark of .977) and he even looks spry in the field and on the basepaths.
“Injuries are the looming worry with Trout, so there’s always the concern that the other shoe is going to drop. But the certain Hall of Famer we saw throughout the 2010s? He’s back. Let’s hope he can remain back all month … and potentially all year.”
Trout is slashing .248/.431/.569 and has driven in 21 runs in 31 games thus far and has even swiped five bases, showing that the 34-year-old is enjoying a healthy season in center field.
First pitch is at 6:38 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.
