Pujols, Angels are taking flight after early grounding
Albert Pujols kept saying the season was young and it’s more important how you finish than how you start. The point behind the clichés: Talent eventually will prevail.
And so it finally has for Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels, inexplicably buried in last place in the American League West for most of the season.
An eight-game winning streak that ended Wednesday has lifted the Angels (26-26) back to respectability while boosting their confidence, and just in time. The division-leading Texas Rangers are visiting Anaheim this weekend, seeking to build on their 10-3 mark against the Angels in their last 13 meetings.
The Rangers are bound to see a different club than the one that staggered through an 8-15 April with Pujols going homerless. Los Angeles posted an 18-11 record in May, tied for second best in the majors. And over the last 16 games Pujols batted .344 with seven homers and 16 RBI.
“Offensively, we’re leaps and bounds better than we were,” said Mark Trumbo, one of the main reasons for the surge.
The second-year outfielder-infielder-DH has homered in four consecutive games, one shy of the team record, while raising his average to .348, third in the AL.
He has combined with dynamic leadoff man Mike Trout (batting .303 since his April 28 call-up) to energize an offense that was held to two runs or fewer in 17 of its first 43 games. Los Angeles averaged five runs in the next nine games.
Mix in their league-leading starters’ ERA of 3.41, and it’s easy to see why the Angels suddenly are clicking.
“We’re doing a better job of forward-thinking in terms of optimism,” lefty C.J. Wilson told MLB.com. “We have a lot of guys who have positive attitudes and are starting to show it.”