Angels' embarrassing sweep to White Sox shows just how far they have to go

There is bad, and then there is really bad. During the first game of the season's penultimate series against the White Sox, with history on the line, the Angels had to scrounge for two late runs against the White Sox. It was a scoreless affair until the seventh inning when Eric Wagaman roped an RBI double, then Jack López homered in the eighth to make it 2-0. It was bad that it took them this long to plate a run, especially against the worst team of all time.

At least they put some runs on the board to grab a late lead, right? It wouldn't get any worse, or could it? Jack Kochanowicz's stellar outing of seven scoreless innings was erased thanks to Hunter Strickland's meltdown in relief, followed by an unacceptable error. The Angels were two innings away from handing Chicago their 121st loss of the season, which would have broke the record for most ever, surpassing the 1962 Mets.

Instead, the White Sox won the game 3-2 to stave off that horrific record for at least one more day. The defeat moved the Angels to 63-94, which was one loss away from tying for the most losses in franchise history. That wasn't the worst of it, however. With two outs in the eighth, López misread a pop-up that would have ended the inning, but instead tied it up at 2.

The White Sox were on the verge of a historically bad season, but the Angels stole their infamy

The second game of the series went to extra innings, after the Angels at least showed some resilience. The Angels were down 2 runs, tied the game at 2, allowed another run to trail 3-2, and tied the game in the 8th inning by way of a Michael Stefanic bunt single with the bases loaded. With a ghost runner at 2nd base in the 10th, the Angels were unable to score a run off a reliever who has allowed more hits than innings pitched. José Quijada allowed a game losing single in the bottom half of the inning. This tied the franchise record for losses.

In the series finale, the Angels showed zero signs of life in a 7-0 beatdown. They lost to Chris Flexen, a starter who had not collected a win in his last 23 starts. Tyler Anderson ended his season on a down note, finishing his season with a 10-15 record. Zach Neto exited the game with an injury to top it all off. They now have the most losses in franchise history.

It just goes to show the LA front office that their team has a long way to go. The Angels cannot quite finish off a game, give a complete effort, or just make a routine play to avoid embarrassment while facing a team that is begging to lose each night. The Halos are 7-16 in September, limping to the finish line with only a few bright spots to close out the season. Zach Neto and Jack Kochanowicz are closing out 2024 on a strong note, and Taylor Ward has gone for a career-high in home runs.

Outside of that, the Angels have proven that they are nowhere near close to being a competitive franchise that can vie for a playoff berth. If Los Angeles isn't allowing five runs in the first two innings, they are giving the game away in the seventh inning or later, or getting blown out altogether.

It has been a dreadful overall effort from the Angels in 2024, but this last month has been exceptionally tough to watch.