If there is any wonder why the Los Angeles Angels are one of the worst teams in the league, look no further than this play.
The Angels and Seattle Mariners were tied at 4 in the bottom of the 8th inning of their game Saturday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
Taylor Ward led off the bottom of the 8th with a double and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. For some reason, the Angels thought that would be a good time to try a suicide squeeze play.
Jack Lopez bunted the ball just inches in front of home plate. Perhaps thinking his ball would roll foul, Lopez did not run out the play. Instead, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh tagged Ward out in front of home plate and then threw to first for the tag out of Lopez for a double play.
The #Angels attempted a suicide squeeze in the eighth. They did not score. The bunt dropped too close to home plate. pic.twitter.com/mOzJwhkTzJ
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) September 1, 2024
What an absolute disaster. And of course the next batter was Nolan Schanuel, who lined out to center field to end the inning.
The Angels won the game on a walk-off homer by Mickey Moniak, but that failed play just shows why the team is so bad.
Why would you call for such a high-risk play in a situation like that with nobody out? And then the execution and lack of running by Lopez showed a total lack of awareness. The Angels are now 56-80 and would need to go at least 25-1 over their final 26 games to avoid a losing season.
