Angels News: All-Star Closer Staying Positive Amid Continued Struggles for Halos

The Angels entered the All-Star break down pretty bad as they had dropped multiple games in a row and were seeing themselves fall down the standings. But they were hopeful that the time off could help get them back on track and maybe get the spark going again.

However, the opening game showed more of the same as the Angels dropped it to the Houston Astros. But in game two, they showed some fight. They stormed a late inning comeback and stole the game from Houston.

It was seen as maybe a glimmer of light in a very troubling time for the organization. But then in the series finale on Sunday Night Baseball, more of the same troubles reared their ugly heads. The team held a four-run lead in the 8th inning but failed to finish off the job. They squandered the lead and eventually dropped the game to Houston by a score of 9-8. Just when the Angels thought they may be getting back to some positive play, things turned for the worse.

However, the players are doing their best to try and stay positive even with the struggles they have seen. Their playoff odds are dwindling by the day but with games left to play, never say never. Closer Carlos Estévez talked about it after the game.

“We need to stick together and get through it,” Estévez said. “It’s a tough loss. But we have 60-plus more games. We can’t lose our minds over this. It’s baseball. It’s a game of failure. We just need to bounce back and get more wins.”

Per MLB.com

The loss Sunday to the Astros was the team's 11th in their last 13 overall and with the trade deadline coming up, things aren't look great for the Angels. Even their manager Phil Nevin admitted that this defeat was a tough one for the team.

“That hurts. It stings,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “You want to build off yesterday. I talked about the fight and everything. So yeah, that one hurts.”

Per MLB.com

All the Angels can do right now is look ahead and hope for better results. They still have time to turn things around but the clock is ticking. Something needs to change and it needs to happen sooner rather than later.