LA Angels Have a Chance to Make Some Noise In July

The LA Angels were able to pull off an impressive sweep against the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, and they might not be done with their winning ways quite yet.

In the coming weeks, the LA Angels have a legitimate shot to make some noise in the AL Wild Card race. While they won’t be matching up against any of the other teams vying for a spot (unless you consider the Astros at risk of losing the division), their schedule will give them a nice boost prior to the trade deadline.

They’ll start this week with a four-game series against the Astros. While that’s always a tall task, especially given the Astros dominance over the Angels, the Halos have a chance to at least split the series. They’ll (likely) avoid Justin Verlander in the series, giving them a chance to pull off a couple of wins.

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After that, it’ll be smooth sailing for the Angels. They’ll travel to Seattle for a weekend series against the Mariners. Like I stated earlier, they just trounced the Mariners at home and it should be a similar outcome next weekend. Seattle has continued to sell off their talent, and who knows how much worse the roster will be after another week of Jerry Dipoto.

After that, a two game series in Chavez Ravine against the Dodgers. While that seems intimidating given their record and status as the best team in baseball, the Angels have played the Dodgers well over the past few years. They won both games at The Big A earlier this season. Obviously the Dodgers are more talented, but it could be another magical series for the Halos.

Following the matchup against the Dodgers, the Halos return home for perhaps their easiest seven-game stretch of the season. First off, they’ll face the Baltimore Orioles in a four-game series. To be frank, the Orioles are the worst team in baseball, and it isn’t necessarily close. With the likelihood of them shipping off any players of value as the deadline nears, there’s a possibility the team the Angels face in a week will be even worse than the one that barely survived falling victim to a perfect game on Sunday.

After what should be an Angels sweep, the Halos will host the Detroit Tigers for a three-game set as their final series before the trade deadline. The Tigers have an argument as the second worst team in baseball, and could very likely have traded away their three most valuable assets in Matthew Boyd, Shane Greene, and Nicholas Castellanos by then.

The Angels, on the other hand, could have brought in help via trade two weeks from now. Whether that happens or not, this should be another series win for the Angels.

The Angels have a gift of an easy schedule heading towards the trade deadline. July has been the toughest month of these players’ careers, no doubt, but they have a chance to put something special together in the second half of it, and be truly nasty.