CLEVELAND (AP) — The Angels have had a devilish time playing in Cleveland.
With a 4-2 loss to the Guardians on Wednesday, Los Angeles was not only swept in the three-game series but dropped to 4-30 at Progressive Field since 2015.
Cleveland's stunning home record — and .882 winning percentage — against the Angels over the 11-year span is the best by any major league team against any opponent.
Beyond that, the Guardians have hosted the Angels for 40 consecutive
games without losing two in a row, the longest such streak in the expansion era (1961) for Cleveland. The Guardians haven't lost two straight home games to the Angels since 2013.
In baseball, such dominance is almost unfathomable.
“They’re a well-coached team,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said in trying to explain the imbalance. “Their pitching has always been outstanding and they’re just a solid team. It’s a tough place to play and they’re a perennial playoff team every single year.”
The Angels, by contrast, have been a losing team for much of their run of futility at Cleveland. LA’s last winning season was 2015.
Suzuki has been part of the tilted matchup as a player and manager. He caught for the Angels in 2021 and 2022. Even before that, he remembers every visit to face the Guardians being a challenge.
“When you play good teams it’s a grind,” Suzuki said. “When I was with the Angels, the Nationals, the Twins, they’re always tough. It’s not just the Angels. It’s everybody coming in and playing against them.”
Parker Messick struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings in the series finale and Cleveland's pitchers fanned 13 Angels for the second day in a row. LA superstar Mike Trout went 0 for 4 and failed to reach base for the first time in 26 career starts against the Guardians.
Before the game, manager Stephen Vogt, who missed Monday's series opener while recovering from an upper respiratory condition, wrapped his knuckles on a table for good luck when asked about Cleveland's recent command of the Angels.
“It’s just a stat,” Vogt said of the lopsided ledger. “Sometimes you catch teams at the right time, sometimes you catch teams at the wrong time. I’m really proud of the way our guys played. I obviously watched the game on Monday. I thought we played a phenomenal game.
“And then last night I thought we played excellent baseball. We played great defense. Our pitching was outstanding and we got hits when we needed to. And you do those things, it’s a recipe to win.”
Guardians catcher Austin Hedges didn't want to put much stock in Cleveland's success over the Angels, knowing how quickly it could swing in the other direction.
“It's a baseball thing,” he said. “We don’t play any teams. We play a game that has nine individuals on the field. It’s not a team sport. Today it was Parker Messick versus Mike Trout. And then Jo Adell. It’s an individual game of players and teams change every year.
“But it was a really clean series for us. When we play really good baseball, we’re very hard to beat.”
Just ask the Angels.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
