The Angels had a chance to change season against Blue Jays but failed miserably

The Angels were once again .500 after an overall strong showing against the Atlanta Braves, whichincluded a Tyler Anderson bounce back start. The Halos took the series two games to one and then traveled to Toronto for a 4th of July weekend series against one of the hottest teams in baseball.

When the Angels clinched their win on Thursday night, they sat five games back of the Blue Jays for the first Wild Card spot. By the end of the night, after a clutch showing from George Springer, the Blue Jays had beat the Yankees to take sole possession of first place in the American League East. The Halos sat 1.5 games back of Seattle for the third Wild Card, and 4.5 back from the Yankees.

The Mariners were playing host to the suddenly elite Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, and the Angels had a real opportunity to gain ground in the Wild Card race. While the season is not over after getting swept by the Blue Jays, the Halos could have changed its trajectory convincingly if they would have been able to beat Toronto even once.

The Angels had a chance to change season against Blue Jays but failed miserably

Not only did the Mariners sweep the Pirates, they held them scoreless the entire weekend. The Red Sox also turned in a sweep over the Nationals, a team the Angels lost a series against a week ago. The Angels are now 4.5 back of the Mariners for the third wild card spot, 2 back from the Red Sox and a half game back of the Rangers in the AL standings. The Twins and Royals are right on the Angels' tails.

The Angels had a lot going against them this series that obviously came to fruition. Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano pitched the two days prior (and extremely well, at that), so it was Kyle Hendricks, Jack Kochanowicz, and Anderson starting against the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are playing some of their best baseball right now. They have now won 11 games in row, including back-to-back-to-back sweeps of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Angels to catapult them to a 52-38 record atop the AL East. The Halos ran into a buzzsaw.

The offense showed June was no fluke in Atlanta, but sputtered against Toronto's starters and relievers. With hero of the season Jo Adell continuing his elite breakout campaign and Luis Rengifo turning into a competent cog in the lineup again, there are signs of life that they can hit their way back into contention at least.

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