Angels offense struggling early with runners on base
ANAHEIM -- The perception of the Angels heading into the season was that the offense was going to have to carry them. That's especially the case now, with Jered Weaver's injury crippling an already frail rotation and Garrett Richards' promotion thinning the back end of the bullpen.
But the offense hasn't really shown up yet.
The Angels went into Wednesday's game against the A's tied for 17th in the Majors in runs per game (4.1), tied for 15th in homers (eight) and 12th in OPS (.766), with cleanup hitter Josh Hamilton batting only .138 and homerless while the Angels have dropped five of their first seven games.
But the most eye-popping stat was this one: A batting average of .119 with runners in scoring position (7-for-59), last in the Majors.
"Some guys haven't been swinging the bat to their capabilities, and if you're not doing that, it's going to show up in pretty much every stat," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, whose club also came into Wednesday with the fourth-most runners left on base. "We hit some balls hard with runners in scoring position, but for the most part we haven't hit our stride in that department. We are getting better at-bats, and I'm sure it's going to spill over into those other statistics."