The Dodgers Absolute Demolition of the Angels in the Freeway Series By the Numbers

Rivalry games are notorious for upsets and games that are closer than they probably should be. However, that was not the case this weekend as the huge talent gap between the Angels and the Dodgers was on full display in Anaheim.

This was not just a sweep. It was a thorough demolition by a cross town rival who could not be further apart in the baseball universe. Here are the numbers that illustrate just how far away the Angels are from MLB's elite.

Dodgers 31 Angels 3

That would be a pretty rough score in a football game. In baseball that is absolutely insane. The Angels scored the equivalent of 1 run per night. The team's high water mark was 2 on Saturday night to balance out the zero they put on the board Friday. Add in the solo run scored Sunday afternoon and it was 3 total runs for the Angels in 3 games.

Meanwhile the Dodgers offense had a field day. 10 runs in a game is quite an accomplishment in Major League Baseball. But to average 10+ runs a game for an entire series is truly remarkable.

Perry's biggest off season additions to the pitching staff, Alek Manoah and Grayson Rodriguez, were tagged for 15 of those runs in a combined 4 innings. That is a nifty ERA of 33.75 for the duo Minasian had pegged to fill out 40% of the rotation.

31 Strikeouts by Angels hitters.

The Angels came into this series leading the league in strikeouts and put some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack. There are 27 outs per side in a game and the Angels gave away 31 outs in three days. There was no real standout day, either, as the K totals were 11, 9, and 11 again.

Zach Neto struck out 4 times, pushing his American League leading total to 67 on the year. Jorge Soler added 4 more punch outs and now sits at 59, tied for 5th most in the AL.

This constant inability to put the ball in play is killing the offense and is a constant throughout the lineup. In the Sunday finale only Mike Trout and Josh Lowe did not strike out. The Angels pinch hit for Lowe, though, so he was denied his final opportunity to get in his daily K.

Angels 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position, Dodgers 13 for 31.

Both sides of that equation are horrible. Any time a team goes 2 for 17 they are not going to score runs. Many of the Angels strikeouts came with runners on and killed any potential for a rally.

However, only getting 17 at bats with runners on in 3 days is also abysmal. The Dodgers were 13 for 31 with runners in scoring position for comparison's sake.

Getting men on base then driving them home is the recipe for scoring runs. However, the Angels prefer to swing for the fences. Home run or back to the dugout.

Angels 2 walks Dodgers 13

A big reason for the offensive disparity between the two clubs is walks. Angels hitters simply did not walk at all while the Dodgers collected 13 free passes. No only did the Angels give away more outs through strikeouts, they also gave away 11 more baserunners by issuing walks.

Jose Soriano had a rare lapse of control on Saturday night and was the culprit for half a dozen walks. But he was far from alone.

The real issue here it the Angels hitters swinging away with no concept of the strike zone.

Angels 0 home runs Dodgers 4

What is truly saddening is that a team that swings for the fences every at bat completely failed to hit a home run in the series. There is plenty of power between Zach Neto, Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Jo Adell but not a single one of them connected on a long ball.

And the Dodgers home runs were not hit by the usual suspects. Andy Pages and Max Muncy went deep on Friday night with Teoscar Hernandez joining them Saturday night.

The Angels three true outcome approach is really only producing one outcome right now. And that is strikeouts.

Does Brady Anderson get fired?

It is very evident that first year manager Kurt Suzuki is in way over his head. But Brady Anderson was brought in specifically to reduce the Angels league leading strikeout total from 2025. That clearly is not working.

A well functioning organization would fire everybody from Perry Minasian down to the entire coaching staff minus Mike Maddux. At some point some figurehead will take the fall and right now the offense is alarmingly bad.

Arte Moreno tends to be loyal to a fault. He is also notoriously cheap when it comes to paying coaches and scouts. Between those two factors expect Anderson to keep his job with the Angels. In many other organizations he would already be fired.

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