3 worst moments of LA Angels' 14-game losing streak

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The LA Angels are finally done with their abysmal 14-game losing streak that they hopped on when they finally beat the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. The losing streak lasted from May 25th through June 8th.

Quite a bit happened within the franchise for it to take place, and the Halos are now outside the playoff picture as a result. They left Thursday's game having finally broken the losing streak, but 2.5 games out of the last wild card spot. They were sitting at 28-31. They were originally 27-17.

While there were many awful moments from the skid, there were three in particular that stung just a little bit more than one of just the losses themselves. In fact, one of the days of the streak, the team took two L's in one.

No. 3 worst moment of LA Angels' 14-game losing streak: The doubleheader sweep in New York

The LA Angels losing two games in one day is absolutely up there. It wasn't just that they lost them, too. It was also the way that they lost them. In the first game, Shohei Ohtani only lasted three-plus innings on the bump and gave up four runs and eight hits.

He also got picked off on the base paths. He went 1 for 8 at the plate that day (both games combined). The second game was painful too, as it was a very winnable game for the Halos. They lost 1-2 after they had an eighth inning lead. The bullpen couldn't finish the job.

No. 2 worst moment of LA Angels' 14-game losing streak: Joe Maddon's firing

Regardless of how each and every LA Angel fan feels about Joe Maddon being fired, it was certainly a tough day for the franchise. When a team's manager is being fired, something is clearly wrong. Therefore, Maddon's firing summed up the losing streak pretty well.

Turmoil led to a job being lost. It was tough to see someone who's spent over three decades with the Angels no longer be a part of this ballclub. He's been a manager with this team three times, and was the one who figured out how to use Ohtani to the best of his full two-way abilities.

Maddon's firing happened because the team still hasn't been able to win games even when they have the two best players in the world healthy and at their peaks. While Ohtani himself knows that it's not all on Maddon, the team felt that it was--or was at least enough to the point where they wanted to make a change.

When the Halos brought Maddon back after the 2019 season, it was a big deal to hire a three-time Manager of the Year with two pennants and a World Series to his name. Seeing him lose his job early was a tough look for the organization.

No. 1 worst moment of LA Angels' 14-game losing streak: Taylor Ward's injury

When Taylor Ward got injured on June 3rd, the LA Angels were already eight games into the losing streak. Things were already looking terrible, and now they just lost one of their three best players. Ward's right hamstring tightness will likely sideline him until Tuesday.

Ward has hit .333/.443/.644 (1.087 OPS) this season, so losing him was sure to have a tremendous impact on the club. Sure enough, the team ended up losing three straight one-run games against the Red Sox. If Ward was in the lineup, they likely win at least a couple of those games.

Even if they just take two of those three, they would be in a much better spot in the playoff picture. They would be just a half game back of the Sox for the third Wild Card spot. If they won all three, they would be a half game ahead. Ward has a 211(!) OPS+ this year by the way, so don't bother with the "you don't know they would have won" takes.

dark. Next. 3 long-term replacements for Joe Maddon

Now that the streak finally ended, the Halos will have the opportunity to right the ship and get back to the postseason picture. Through all that's happened, they're still potentially three games away from being that third Wild Card team. There's still 103 games left--plenty of time for the Halos to put their talent together and make a run for the first time since 2014.

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