Angels have 3 prime opportunities to put their stamp on AL Wild Card race

The Los Angeles Angels just won their first series in nearly a month by taking two of three against the Royals in Kansas City. The Halos have won four out of their last six games, and play the Athletics and Minnesota Twins in their next six. As the Tampa Bay Rays are proving with their seven-game win streak to pull within two games of a Wild Card spot, there is plenty of season left for teams to play their way back into playoff contention. However, the Angels are relatively cemented into playoff spoiler status barring an absolute miracle of a turnaround.

Angels have 3 prime opportunities to put their stamp on AL Wild Card race

If they swept the Angels, KC would have moved to a 73-67 record and pulled into a tie with the Mariners for the third AL Wild Card spot. However, Jo Adell, Caden Dana, Mitch Farris and the Angels bullpen bested the Royals and sent them two games back of Seattle, a half game back of Texas and into a tie with Tampa Bay in the standings. Sure, the Angels somewhat helped their chances of making the playoffs, but the long-term effects of that series will be far more significant for the Royals than the Angels.

A quick scan of the Angels' schedule shows that the Angels could play spoiler a few more times in September. After the back-to-back series against the A's and Twins, the Halos take on the Mariners for four games, the Brewers for three, the Rockies for three and then finish the season with the Royals again and Astros for three apiece. Technically, the Brewers do not have the National League Central locked up, so the Angels could help out the Cubs during that series if they somehow find a way to best the Brew Crew.

More importantly, the Angels could completely mess up the Mariners, Royals and/or Astros. On paper, the Mariners could build up some momentum before the Angels matchup with back-to-back series against Atlanta and St. Louis. Both teams are going to miss the playoffs, and Mariners should be favored in the majority of those games. However, Seattle has proven that they are an incredibly streaky team and any result is possible.

All eyes could be on the Angels in late-September for their series against the Royals and Astros. They just split a four-game series in Houston, before besting the Royals. We'll all see what unfolds in September, a month that the Angels quite literally play worse baseball than any other team in, but those sicko, spiteful, vengeful fans could possibly get some laughs if they somehow can ruin Seattle or Houston's season.

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