Angels open key 10-game stretch with a win
There is no understating the importance of the current stretch for the Los Angeles Angels.
Over the 10 days that began Monday, the Angels will play two of the teams they have been trying to catch in the race for one of the American League's two wild-card playoff spots. A three-game series in Oakland is followed by a seven-game homestand during which the Angels will host the Detroit Tigers for three games and then face the A's in a four-game rematch between the AL West rivals.
"Crucial," Angels catcher Chris Iannetta said. "You can use that word if you like.
"It's important. We need to win. You don't want it to be a make-or-break stretch, but it could be. You're playing teams ahead of you. There's the possibility it could be a turning point or a defining moment."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia is always reluctant to put added emphasis on any game or stretch of games, preferring to preach the virtues of taking baseball's 162-game grind one game at a time. His message to the players as they enter the final month of the season has been to focus on the task at hand.
"It's still in front of us," Scioscia said. "There might be a couple teams that obviously you might need to get help from moving forward. But if we play well, we're going to have opportunities to get where we need to get to.
"Obviously as we're getting down to -- what is it? -- 28 games left. Things will get more magnified. But to get to where we want to be, it's just a case of building momentum pitch to pitch."
The Angels started the key sequence with a win Monday, winning 8-3 in the series opener at Oakland. Los Angeles sits 3 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the second wild-card position.
