Angels depth looms large in series sweep over the Cubs

The Los Angeles Angels have begun their stretch against poor competition the best way they possibly could have by completing a sweep against the Chicago Cubs. The Halos sit at 34-30 and find themselves 2.5 games back of Houston for the third and final Wild Card spot.

It's no secret that the Angels are a team built around Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, but the depth pieces played a huge role in completing the sweep. Whether it's players who have been here all year or players who just got here, the surrounding pieces played a big role in the series sweep.

LA Angels depth looms large in series sweep over the Cubs

Perry Minasian made it a point to bring in as much depth as possible to this Angels team. With players injured and underperforming, the Angels have called on that depth to help them win.

Yesterday's win was highlighted by one man, Jo Adell. The outfielder was making his season debut with Hunter Renfroe on the Paternity List and he launched an absolute moonshot 451 feet into left field. Adell had a 117.2 mph exit velocity on the home run which turns out to be the hardest-hit ball by an Angel this season. It came in Adell's first at-bat of the season. Adell went from an Opening Day starter last season to a player debuting in June.

Adell wasn't the only one to show up in that series finale. Remember Jose Soriano? How about the job he did. In his third MLB appearance Soriano was asked to pitch the top of the eighth inning against the top of the Cubs lineup. Soriano got Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, and Ian Happ in order with a pair of strikeouts to protect the two-run lead.

Sam Bachman's fourth MLB outing was his best by far as he retired all six batters he faced with three strikeouts. This was with a four-run lead in the eighth and ninth innings.

Some players who have been here for longer than those three players but still lack a defined role stepped up as well. Luis Rengifo hit a home run to tie the second game of the series and then lined an RBI single to give them the lead. How about Mickey Moniak's huge three-run double? That gave Bachman and the Angels some insurance.

Trout and Ohtani had their moments this series. Both went deep, Trout made some nice catches in center field as well, but this series was won with all 26 players.

The Angels having the ability to call on someone like Adell who's capable of doing what he did in a pinch or calling on hard-throwing relievers to come in and get huge outs early in their MLB career is a luxury the Angels hadn't had in years past.

I don't know if this team is good enough to make the postseason, but thanks to the added depth, they're able to stay afloat.