Taylor Ward gets incredibly unlucky in return for LA Angels

Taylor Ward came back from his hamstring injury for the LA Angels in Game 1 of their Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers to mixed results.

On one hand, he hit three balls very hard in all three of his first three at-bats. He did strike out in the ninth inning, but it is worth bringing up that his first three at-bats were all quality at-bats.

The issue, however, is that the first two at-bats were outs, and the third ball he smoked was scored an error. He smoked a liner up the middle, right at the shift, and despite the ball being too much for the defense to handle on the short hop it took--the official scorer ruled it an error.

So, Ward's swing was there. He just didn't catch any breaks. It was still great, however, to see Ward hitting the ball hard. Eventually, the ball will begin to find gaps in the defense. Besides, it's not like his numbers took a big hit. He's still slashing .324/.432/.625 (1.057 OPS).

Taylor Ward is going to be a huge gain for the LA Angels' lineup.

In the nine games that Taylor Ward missed for the LA Angels, the Halos lost three games by one run. His bat was surely needed. He has a 201 OPS+ on the year, which goes to show that when healthy--he's been one of the best hitters in the world this season.

All he needs is to finally catch a break on Wednesday for his impact to be felt. Ward certainly didn't catch any breaks on Tuesday, but showed plenty of signs of life in his return.

The Halos themselves can't catch any breaks in general, beyond just Ward having to miss nine games recently. The team is now 29-34 and in need of a series tie here against their crosstown opponent.