Angels provide more of the same ineptitude on Opening Day

Runners stranded on base. One bad early inning. A bizarre managerial decision. If this feels familiar to Angels fans, it’s because it is. The 2025 season has started in much the same way as 2024 played out.

The eventual 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, who it’s worth mentioning are coming off the worst season in MLB history, started positively enough. Taylor Ward doubled off starter Sean Burke, then moved to third on a Nolan Schanuel ground out. Then Mike Trout reached base, but in a way that had Angels fans momentarily terrified:

Mike Trout gives Angels fans Opening Day scare with immediate hit-by-pitch

Trout seemed ok. And that’s about where the good news for the day ends.

Strikeouts from Jorge Soler and Tim Anderson left Ward stranded at third, turning things over to Yusei Kikuchi to make his Angels debut. He got his first strikeout for his new team, gave up a double to Luis Robert Jnr, struck out Andrew Benintendi and induced a flyout from Andrew Vaughan to end the innings. So far, so good.

In the top of the second, the Angels kept the chances coming. Logan O’Hoppe and Jo Adell had back-to-back singles, a Kevin Newman liner moved O’Hoppe to third, but yet again that was it – Taylor Ward ground out to leave a runner on for the second time in 2 innings.

And then the wheels came off. Austin Slater took Kikuchi deep in the 2nd, a slick infield play from Kevin Newman was overturned on appeal to put Korey Lee on at first, Jacob Amaya singled and then Miguel Vargas dropped a comical bloop hit into shallow centre, landing plumb in the middle of four converging Angels fielder. It was scored a double, brought in both baserunners and gave the White Sox a 3-0 lead.

The next few innings were a pitching duel, of sorts. Both Burke and Kikuchi settled in, neither giving up another hit in six total innings of work. Kikuchi ended up striking out 5, and splitting his flyball and groundball outs evenly. He utilised five pitches, including his new sweeper, and threw 87 total in a quality start, only marred by that 2nd inning. The seventh inning brought in Ryan Johnson, making not just his Angels but his professional baseball debut, and he did not disappoint - yet. His first out came on his first pitch, a routine grounder, followed by his first strikeout and Logan O’Hoppe immediately throwing that ball into the Angels dugout for safekeeping. Another groundout ended the frame; a 1-2-3 inning, on debut, on opening day.

Last year, the White Sox bullpen had both the lowest save percentage and the most blown leads of any team in baseball, and in the top of the 8th the Angels had a golden opportunity to pile onto those statistics. Yoan Moncada, pinch hitting for Kevin Newman, came on to boos from his previous Chicago fans, and drew a walk. Schanuel hit a two-out single to move Moncada to third, bringing Mike Trout to the plate as the potential tying run. Facing Mike Clevinger, the ex-starter originally drafted by the Halos and now converted into a de facto closer for the White Sox, Trout drew out a 9 pitch walk to load the bases, just missing on a couple of big swings. Jorge Soler stepped in, ran the count full….and struck out on a foul tip.

This was precisely the kind of situation Angels fans had been anticipating all offseason. Trout up in a big moment, with runners on. Soler behind him as backup power. Full counts, full bases, and facing a team they really should beat. And yet, the runners in scoring position yips that plagued them all of last season were back.

In the bottom of the 8th, inexplicably, Ryan Johnson came back out to pitch. A guy who just pitched an inning he should remember forever, back in after the offense had just sucked all the air out of the Angels' sails, on a day when the entire bullpen should be fully rested and raring to go, makes no sense at all. It certainly didn’t work out. By the time he was mercifully lifted with two outs, he’d given up 5 earned runs on four hits, two of them homers. He’d gone from a 0.00 ERA to a 27.00 in his first game. And the bullpen was so unprepared that Nicky Lopez, only acquired earlier in the week as an infielder, had to mop things up.

Yes, Logan O’Hoppe hit a solo home run in the 9th, but then it was far too little, far too late. The Angels lost their fourth opening day start in a row, and handed the White Sox their first winning record since opening day 2023. For sure, it’s only one game. Both pitchers showed encouraging signs, and Kevin Newman showed flashes of defensive brilliance. But overall, this game carried far too many reminders of what made the Angels so frustrating to watch in 2024.  

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