Western Road Trip 2026, Pt. 1… it’s a wrap. And lucky for Braves supporters, this Left Coast visit saw the team return home as winners… a 4-3 trip and an 8-5 overall record – currently good for 1st place in the NL East. (Thanks, D-Backs.) It’s early, sure, but keep that .615 pace all season & it’s 100 wins.
And, compared to last year’s disastrous western foray that sullied the season from the jump, these Braves return home in another state of mind, for sure. (Cue Orange County punk heroes Social Distortion…)
Social Distortion – Another State Of Mind (Music Video) – YouTube
Speaking of the OC, ever notice this? The Los Angeles Angels (1961-65). The California Angels (1966-96). The Anaheim Angels (1997-2004). The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005-2015). The Los Angeles Angels (2016-present). See, this is what happens when you have too many marketing meetings. The reality is that Anaheim is to L.A. what Hicksville, Long Island, is to NYC… suburbs, folks, ain’t nearly the same.
Chill City: I remember my first visit to Angels Stadium in the summer of 1991. It was Red Sox/Angels & I was sitting by the LF foul pole next to a New Englander who’d moved to the OC. This being only my second trip to SoCal, I asked him the difference between, say, East Coast baseball fans & those in Cali. His answer: “Well, in Bawston, we can give ow-ah playahs a haaaaa-rd time, but we’re really on their side. Here? Pffft… they don’t even notice what’s goin’ on – the weather’s too nice and it’s like they’re all drunk on Perrier.”
Since then, they’ve adopted the Rally Monkey, which became their version of the Belushi speech from “Animal House,” in that it’s supposed to light a fire under the fans’ collective ass. But my second visit there in 2008 – post-2002 WS title – revealed that it was no more enthusiastic. The crowd and the Angels were so dead that night, they managed to lose to JoJo Reyes – remember him? – which I didn’t think was possible. In fact, it was his last win ever for Atlanta in a season that would see him go 3-11 with a 6.06 ERA. Point is, if you wanna see the OC get fired up, go to a Ducks game.
Anyway… in this series closer, things got good quickly. After RAJ lead off with a 2-base hit, Drake worked Angels starter Reid Detmers for eight pitches before advancing him to third on a dribbler to second. Ozzie immediately scored him on a short fly to CF. When RAJ slid under Trout’s high throw, it was 1-0 ATL.
In the 2nd, the Braves extended the lead. Riley walked and swiped second… on the play, Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe stunned Braves hitter Jonah Heim with a fairly mighty swat straight to his jock on the follow-thru of his throw to second. After wincing and bending over in obvious discomfort, Heim recovered & promptly deposited the next pitch, on one-hop, over the RF fence for a ground-rule, RBI double… 2-0 Braves.
How was the Kenny Powers Show? (And why is it that every time I see him I think of the Hogansville truck stop just off I-85?) He went 3-up/3-down in the first, but bottom 2 was scary.
Not long after his 7-game suspension was announced (for last night’s scrap), Jorge Soler crushed a hanger over the LCF fence… 2-1 ATL. I guess that suspension’ll begin tomorrow. (No word on whether the Falcons would offer a contract to Walt Weiss who executed a superb form-tackle on Soler.)
It didn’t end there, however; a walk, a single and another walk loaded ‘em up for Logan “The Nutcracker” O’Hoppe, who ABS’d an RBI walk… 2-2 score now, bases still loaded & still no outs. Fortunately, Powers revved it up & short-circuited a potential inning from hell… a 3-pitch K, a harmless pop to RAJ in short RF & a force-out dribbler to Trout. Whew.
After that, it was all Atlanta. In the 3rd, Detmers nicked Drake’s jersey to put him on first. Then, with 2 outs, Olson smoked an inside, 3-2 heater on a line over the RCF fence… that was HR #3 for Matt & it was 4-2 ATL.
The hits kept coming, as Riley dunked a Texas Leaguer double to RF (& was assisted by replay after initially being called out at 2B). Then Angels SS Zach Neto air-mailed Dubón’s routine grounder way over 1B for an egregious E6 that made it 5-2 Braves.
In the frames 3 thru 6, Grant Holmes rebounded mightily, getting ahead, surrendering few hard-hit balls, and ultimately cruising with quick, shutdown innings. It cannot be overstated how important his performance has been so far for this debilitated rotation.
The Braves started tacking on in the 5th… an Ozzie single & a Riley walk set up Dubón, who smashed a 2-out, 2-RBI double down the 3B line… 7-2 ATL. The Braves 6th saw Harris walk – yes, you read that correctly – steal second and score on Drake’s whistling single to CF. More of that please! 8-2 ATL – the rout was on.
After 99 pitches and with 2 on and 2 out in the 7th, WW pulled Holmes in favor of Joel Payamps, who capped the inning by whiffing Mike Trout on a high, 3-2 heater. Suarez wrapped things up in the 9th by facing the minimum.
After a day-off tomorrow, the Braves return home for a weekend series with the always-pesky Cleveland Guardians. Game 1 will see noted glam-rocker Slade Cecconi facing the ever-topical Bryce Elder… discuss among yourselves and go Braves.
Everyone would’ve taken 8-5 in a 13 game stretch with no off day. Doubly so if you said Acuna and Riley would have a sub-.600 OPS
Thanks, ububba. I went to Angel Stadium for the first time in August 2024. (It happened to be the game in which Riley got a season ending broken hand on a HBP.) It only confirmed my sense that this is a sad franchise. My son and his family have lived in LA for fifteen years, and we have been to Dodgers Stadium many times; it’s always a great experience. The experience at Angel Stadium could not have been more different. The fans weren’t into the game at all. But who can blame them? What a mismanaged franchise! True, perhaps the Rockies have made worse personnel decisions, and several franchises (like Pittsburgh) refuse to spend money. The Angels have resources, and they even have been willing to spend. Somehow it just never seems to work.
And the stadium is a problem. It opened in 1966, the same year the Braves began in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. Along with Dodger Stadium, it’s the only 1960’s park left among the score or so that were built around the same time. Dodger Stadium is unique; Angel Stadium is more like all the other 60’s relics that have since been torn down.
Greetings from a lull in jury duty in Jamaica, Queens…
Agree big-time. Dodger Stadium is really underrated. Getting in & out of the place is rather unique, but there’s no loss in enthusiasm there.
I’m sure that place has more front-runners now than ever, but the fandom is real. Of all the sporting venues out there, it reps LA the best.
A thought from some things I am seeing. I am wondering if our minor league development gurus are implementing a highly effective “unleash the power” strategy for hitters.
On a recent FanGraphs chat, Brandon Gawlowski got called out for underrating Eric Hartman. In his month old report he said something like “he will never be able to unlock or develop significant power.” Well, a few days ago, Hartman launched a home run at 104 and somebody called Gawlowski out and he said, “if it is real, I would make him a 55.” Well, last night, according to Battery Power, Hartman had a double and home run both over 100. And they report severl plus 100’s (I remember Southisene as one more).
Also, by the way, Ritchie and Didier are both sailing.
I don’t really understand how they project these guys with such confidence, but saying a rangy 18 year old who had enough XBH to work out to 50 over a full season would “never be able to develop significant power” seems asinine.
Thanks, cliff. I wonder how long they will leave Didier and JR on the farm if they continue to be lights out. This club has been pretty aggressive with prospects when they think they can handle it. On the other hand, so far the rotation has pitched as well as anyone in MLB, and that keeps the team from acting out of desperation. If Strider pitches well when he returns, and the current top four continue to shine, there is no hurry. Having said that, the chance of Lopez’s shoulder or Holmes’ elbow breaking are pretty high. It’s good to know these guys may be ready.
I would assume the Perez/Suarez era will get the axe soon, but Strider will be back soon as well, so I agree that I don’t see where there will be a spot unless they go to a true 6-man rotation.
Davey Lopes has evidently passed–doesn’t seem possible that he was 80. I remember watching him play. One of the great second basemen, even if he was a Dodger.
Of course, he played on that Dodger infield that was there forever — Garvey, Lopes, Russell & Cey. Played in 4 WS, winning in ’81. In the 1970s, we were in the NL West with them & that team (with great pitching, too) just pummeled us back then.
But what I remember most about Lopes was that he was an elite base stealer. Sure, he stole lotsa bases in a big stolen-base era, but he never seemed to get caught. Had years with huge SB%.
My favorite Davey Lopes-related conversation (NSFW):
Perhaps most impressively, at age 40 in 1985 he swiped a tidy 47 bags at a 92% success rate 😓
We had discussed how Weiss manages the staff differently than Snit. That was a great example—bringing in Bummer to face the lefty with two outs in the 5th. I’ve got to admit when he started 2-0 I had my doubts but Bummer came through.
This bottom of the 6th feels like 2023.
I have noticed when we hit 3 homers in the 6th inning it correlates positively with positive outcomes. JonF can corroborate.
Jose Suarez is making the decision pretty easy about who goes when Strider is ready to return.
Recapped