3 Angels takeaways from the biggest series win of the season vs. the Rangers

2) The LA Angels bullpen proves once again that it is elite

The Angels bullpen has gone from a weakness to a strength. I think it's fair to say that at this point. This bullpen against the best offense in the league was dominant all series long.

In the series opener, the Angels needed a lot of bullpen since the game went 12 innings. Tyler Anderson did his job going six, but the offense couldn't find a way until the twelfth. It only got that far because of the bullpen.

Chris Devenski, Jacob Webb, and Carlos Estevez sent it to extras. Who can forget the work Sam Bachman did to keep the Rangers off the board in the tenth and eleventh? Even Aaron Loup pitched pretty well, only allowing the ghost runner to score.

Jaime Barria failed to complete five innings in his start. The bullpen was asked to get 14 outs and did so without allowing an earned run. Barria exited the game trailing 3-1, and the Angels scored six unanswered to win.

With the bullpen exhausted, the Halos had to turn to some of their lesser members of the bullpen in the third game, and it showed. Jimmy Herget allowed three runs and Tucker Davidson allowed one. The Angels lost because most of their good relievers were unavailable.

The finale saw Ohtani go six, and the bullpen shine again. Chris Devenski and Jose Soriano pitched scoreless innings, but Carlos Estevez struggled mightily. After walking the bases loaded, Jacob Webb came on and finished them off. He allowed one run to score, but held the lead he was given and earned the biggest save of his career.

The bullpen is deep and was dominant all series long. In 15.2 innings pitched, the bullpen allowed just five earned runs. Four of them were from guys who don't have prominent roles. Herget isn't even with the team anymore.

Remember how dominant Matt Moore was? Remember Ben Joyce? Those guys are on the IL and will be back eventually to join this new-look bullpen. When the group is whole, it doesn't feel like a stretch to say it's one of the better units in baseball.

As long as the Angels have a good bullpen, they can remain in games they're behind and they can close out close ones. Earlier this season the Angels blow some of the games they won in this series. It's awesome to see.

3) The LA Angels still have yet to reach their ceiling

The Angels showed this series that they have meaningful depth. They have a deep lineup, a deep bullpen, and even the rotation pitched pretty well against such a high-powered offense. Even with that being said, they're a team built around stars. Shohei Ohtani showed up, the others did not.

Mike Trout had just one hit in ten at-bats this series. Yes, he walked five times, but he's supposed to be much more than that. He drove in one run in four games hitting behind the red-hot Ohtani and continued to look beaten on fastballs.

Eventually you have to assume Trout is going to find his groove offensively. The slump has gone on way too long and he's way too good of a hitter to not figure it out. Maybe this weekend against a horrible Royals team will help him.

Anthony Rendon hasn't been the star we expected him to be as an Angel, but before his injury he was playing really well. He was hitting over .300 and was hitting in the clutch, even if he wasn't hitting for power.

Since returning from the IL, he's looked like a shell of that player. Rendon has two hits in 30 at-bats since his return and had one hit in 17 at-bats in this series. Now, I know Rendon couldn't swing in his three at-bats last night after being hit by a pitch, but he had one hit in 14 at-bats before that.

It's safe to assume both Trout and Rendon will get going offensively. When that happens, watch out. They're playing well right now without their third and fourth hitters doing anything. Imagine when they're actually hitting.