The Los Angeles Angels simply refuse to quit on the 2025 season

After the Angels split a series against the Seattle Mariners, the team seemed destined for another “not quite good enough, let’s sell” deadline. They probably still are! However, Monday night against the Texas Rangers was another moment of resiliency from this Halos squad, and may have just convinced the fans (and more importantly, Perry Minasian and Arte Moreno) that this team has the juice to make some noise. 

An unexpected turnaround

Monday night was supposed to be the nail in the 2025 Angels’ coffin. Jack Kochanowicz was called back up the big league rotation to go head-to-head against Jacob deGrom, who is once again in the midst of a Cy Young caliber season. Jorge Soler and Chris Taylor are back on the IL, and Gustavo Campero was set to start in right field. 

But unlikely heroes were the biggest reason for the Angels’ season surviving another day. 

The third inning saw Kevin Newman - statistically one of the least impressive players in baseball - take deGrom deep to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. On the other side of the ball, Kochanowicz was dealing against the Rangers en route to four innings of no-hit ball. While he was not his typical self in terms of control (six walks on the night), Kochanowicz use his sinker in an effectively wild manner.

Kochanowicz ran into some trouble in the fifth inning, as with two outs the bases were loaded up after a triple and two walks. A routine fly ball to right field made it appear Kochanowicz had escaped the inning. Campero, however, juggled the ball and two runs scored as the ball scampered out of his glove in one of the worst errors fans will see this season. 

Kochanowicz was pulled after that, as Ray Montgomery has a quick hook for his non-Kikuchi and Soriano starters. Connor Brogdon escaped the inning, and Jo Adell was seen motivating and encouraging Campero following the disastrous error. Campero responded with a single, later scoring on a Zach Neto double to give the Angels the lead once again. The Angels found their power stroke after that, as top trade assets Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo both went deep, culminating in a 6-4 lead. 

While it did not lead to any runs, Campero would single shortly after Rengifo’s home run. He would then steal second rather easily. Then, he swiped third base too. Campero responded as well as he could when absolutely no one expected him to. 

Much like the Angels have this season. As soon as the world expects them to fold over, they beat the Rangers 6-4 and stay alive another day. 

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