The Los Angeles Angels lost their 100th game of the season in the season finale to the Mariners.
The Los Angeles Angels fielded a team that was destined to lose 100 games, and they finally got it done in Game 162 as they dropped a 7-3 contest to the Seattle Mariners to hit the 100-loss mark for the first time in Halos history .
It was another non-competitive effort for the Angels, who got down early, came back a little and then packed it in. The Mariners got a run in the second and two more in the third off starter Yusei Kikuchi to make it 3-0.
The first run scored on a groundout by Weston Wilson, with the second and third runs scoring on RBI singles from Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor, respectively.
Kikuchi left aftr five with a line of six hits, three runs and a walk go with seven strikeouts, and the loss dropped him to 1-7 with an ERA of 2.92 for the season. Ouch.
The Angels scored their first token run in the sixth on an RBI single, but the Mariners quickly squashed any hopes of a Halos comeback as Cole Young got an RBI single to get one run home, with Randy Arozarena driving in another with a two-run double.
That made it 6-1 and basically sealed the deal, but there was some additional scoring in the eighth. Jose Siri hit a two run homer to draw the Angels back to within 6-3, but Leo Rivas scored on a wild pitch by Sammy Peralta to account for the 7-3 final score.
The loss represents the end of an era after the sale of the team by owner Arte Moreno, but no one in Anaheim will be crying about this particular ending.
The Angels closed out the season in the basement of the AL West, which is easily the worst division with the Houston Astros making the playoffs by finishing first at 81-81. The Angels wound up 62-100, two games behind the Athletics and 19 games behind Houston.
Better times are ahead, though, at least in theory. New owner Stan Kroenke is known for fielding well-run teams that spend freely, and both of those would be the opposite of what the Angels have been doing for the last few years. It’s going to be a fascinating offseason that’s getting off to a promising start with the coming days of no more Arte Moreno on the horizon, starting early in the new year.
