The LA Angels start out 2019 season with a tough first month

The LA Angels began the Brad Ausmus era on Thursday and were promptly shutout by the Oakland A’s and many fans were already ready to push the panic button.

The LA Angels laid an egg on opening day for the sixth time in a row losing their sixth straight opening day game 4-0 to the Oakland A’s.  The nice thing about baseball is that you get a clean slate and a chance for immediate redemption the next day.

The Angels will still have three more games with the A’s before heading to Seattle for a short two-game series with the Mariners before returning to Anaheim to play their home opener against the Rangers next Thursday.

The road doesn’t get an easier for the Angels as the first month of the season has the Angels facing four playoff teams from 2018 and another six games against a Seattle team that was close to making the playoffs in 2018.  The only sub .500 teams the Angels play in April are Kansas City and the Texas Rangers.

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This means 20 of the Angels first 30 games will not be very easy and this could lead to another poor April which will put the team behind the eight ball early in the season. Not only do the Angels play a tough schedule they are not full strength as Rookie of the Year Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton and his 30 homers and potential ace pitcher Andrew Heaney are all on the injured list.

Ohtani was expected to be out the first month of the season recovering from Tommy John Surgery, but not having Heaney and Upton further complicates matters and it will test the Angels depth right out of the block.

If the Angels can keep their heads above after throughout the first month and within striking distance of the Astros as well as any other potential playoff team it will be a big lift for their morale.  If guys like Justin Bour, Andrelton Simmons, Albert Pujols, and Kole Calhoun, and Zack Cozart can come through and get off to a good start it will go a long way in helping the Angels stay competitive.

We will have to wait and see how the team responds to the early adversity and how Ausmus holds the team together if things get a little tough early.