Angels Veteran Oozing With Confidence Heading Into Second Half: 'We Can Beat Anybody'

It sounds cliché, but Angels catcher Travis d'Arnaud really does know what it takes to win as well as any player in baseball.

D'Arnaud, 36, has appeared in parts of 13 major league seasons. Seven of those have seen his teams reach the postseason. Four years ago, d'Arnaud was the backup catcher on the World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

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The Angels entered the All-Star break with a 47-49 record, and a 4 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. That's downright generous compared to Baseball Reference, which gives the Angels a relatively meager 2 percent chance of playing into October.

Don't show d'Arnaud the odds.

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“I think we have what it takes now,” he told Mike DiGiovanna of the Orange County Register. “I mean, we’re in every game. We’ve beaten good teams.”

To d'Arnaud's point: the Angels swept the Dodgers in a three-game series in May at Dodger Stadium. They are 5-1 against the Boston Red Sox, who would be the second AL Wild Card team if the season ended today, and 25-24 overall against teams with a better than .500 record.

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The projections might be putting a lesser emphasis on these numbers, and more on the Angels' minus-62 run differential — a direct result of their 8-15 record in games decided by five or more runs.

Playing up or down to the level of an opponent might reflect on the Angels' relative inexperience. Five of their primary starting position players are 26 or younger (the average MLB hitter this season is 28, according to Baseball Reference).

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But as the Angels' young core of position players has aged closer to their prime, it's fair to expect their mental maturity to grow into their physical talent.

“We know we have everything we need in this clubhouse,” said Angels pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016. “When we play our brand of baseball, play fundamentally sound and don’t make mistakes, we can beat anybody. We’ve seen that. We’ve proven it.”

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The Angels will get a chance to put d'Arnaud and Hendricks' words to the test in short order. They begin their post-All-Star break schedule with three games in Philadelphia beginning Friday, followed by three in New York against the Mets starting Monday.

The Phillies and Mets are first and second in the National League East, respectively, separated by half a game in the standings.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.