The Los Angeles Angels had almost everything going to plan during their 4-2 win over the Padres on Tuesday. The Padres' Adam Mazur was very tough despite it being his big-league debut, but the offense led by Zach Neto got to San Diego's bullpen while Patrick Sandoval and the rest of the pitching staff limited the Padres offense to just two runs.
Normally, this would be cause for celebration as LA took down a very decent Padres team. However, it instead issued a sad reminder of how terrible the Angels have been at home in 2024, as their win on Tuesday secured just their first home series victory this season.
Angels' first home series win gives hope that LA can be more than road warriors ... maybe
It is honestly wild that the Angels have been such a worse team at home than on the road. Fourteen teams across the league have losing records at home, and of those teams LA has the worst home record (yes, worse than the dreadfully bad White Sox), while somehow sporting a much more respectable (but still not good) 14-17 record on the road. The fact Angels fans had to wait until June to see them get their first home series win of the season is truly sad.
Like most of the Angels' issues, it all comes down to pitching, and that's where the team has really shined against the Padres so far in this series. While the offense has been somewhat quiet, Angels pitchers have given up a total of three runs through the first two games of the series against a lineup that has some real dudes in it. Tyler Anderson and Patrick Sandoval were great in their starts and the bullpen has held things down for the most part. All very positive developments.
If the Angels keep this up, opponents may start dreading coming to Angel Stadium instead of cheering it like they had been through the first two months of the season.