LA Angels: How is pitching affecting hitting?

The LA Angels had have equal shares of brilliance and inability in 2016. After having a 7-0 night versus the White Sox on Monday, the LA Angels failed to score a single run last night against the White Sox.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was commonly known for saying “What’s the deal?” He used this to open his observational humor about things that we’re faulty in the early to mid 1990’s. While Seinfeld’s brand of comedy isn’t as relevant now as it once was, the term “What’s the deal?” can be applied to the LA Angels this season.

What’s the deal with the LA Angels? It would seem that pitching indirectly affects hitting with this team. When the pitching is solid and strikeouts are coming fast and furious, the Angels hitting goes up. When the pitching is on the weaker side, the hitting is non-existent, and the runners are left on base.

Take the last two games into account, on Monday the LA Angels faced the Chicago White Sox. The Angels started Hector Santiago, before Santiago even took the mound the LA Angels had five runs on the board. This team uploaded on the White Sox, with seven runs, off 13 hits. Even C.J. Cron got into the mix by getting two RBI’s. The Halo Hangout twitter was ablaze with tweets such as ”

The Halo Hangout twitter was ablaze with tweets such as “Who’s this team, and what have they done with the Angels?” Funny, but within humor lies truth. The LA Angels have not scored more than five runs all season going into Monday’s game, then out of almost nowhere the LA Angels score five runs after the top of the first. White Sox pitcher Carlos Rondon was pulled before the top of the first ended, his ERA went from a 1.38 to a 4.73 after nine straight hits from the LA Angels.

Then yesterday, the Angels gave up five runs and were themselves shutout on decent pitching from White Sox starting pitcher Mat Latos. Latos improved to 3-0 on the season and his ERA is 0.49. Matt Shoemaker was the starter for the LA Angels. Shoemaker pitched well, he only gave up four hits, and two solo shot home-runs. For the Angels, the hitting was absent. The Angels only had 3 hits on the night, the first hit of the game didn’t come until the fifth inning. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols were kept at bay, they each went 0-for-3 with a walk.

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So, Why the inconsistencies? One of only consistent things about the LA Angels offense is Andrelton Simmons. Simmons is on pace for a record setting year with a hitting streak going on 12 straight games leading up to today. The streak is Simmons’ career-high and the longest by any player this season. However, despite the exceptional play from Simmons and Yunel Escobar,  the Angels scoring seems to fail or go M-I-A depending on the pitcher. Let me explain:

Skipping the Chicago Cubs series, the Angels have scored a total of 42 runs. When Santiago is on the mound, the Angels have scored 16 runs when Santiago starts. When Garrett Richards is on the mound, the Angels have scored six total runs. To quote Seinfeld, “This could mean nothing, but it also could mean something.”

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Does the starting pitcher have any correlation with the hitting and the on-field defense for the LA Angels? I think it does, i believe that when Santiago takes the mound, the LA Angels see strikeouts coming, therefore they relax. Once at the plate, they have extra energy to swing the bat scoring an average of five runs a game, on three starts for Santiago.

It sounds ridiculous; however, in basketball when a player has a strong defense assignment; like guarding Kevin Durant, he’s not going to be concerned about getting his offense going. The assignment is to play defense.

The same can be said with batting and fielding, the fielders know who the weakest link is. They know when a pitcher takes the mound who have given up five runs a game, they’ll have to bring the energy on the field as opposed to bringing at the plate. They’ll burn more energy by chasing balls, and trying to keep the runners off the bases so that by the time they hit the plate, they’re spent.

The “Dr Jekyll Mr. Hyde” qualities this team shows are predominantly caused due to a pitching rotation that has seen better days. It’s clear that when Santiago is on the mound, the Angels show confidence in their starting pitcher. What’s unclear is if the Angels will show the same confidence with the remain starters going forward this season.

Next: Who's the next big prospect to be called up?

The LA Angels have a ton of prospects who could help the team offensively now rather than later. The question is which one is the most reliable and the most ready for a shot a the majors. Calling up prospects is often an emergency situation, like the case of Nick Tropeano after Andrew Heabey was placed on the 15-day DL. However, there might be a hidden gem ready to shine for the LA Angels this season.