The Los Angeles Angels hoped to be playing for something in the final 10 days of 2025 instead of playing out another losing season.
Los Angeles has dropped eight in a row and continues its final road trip of the season at the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night in Denver. The Angels will send Kyle Hendricks (7-10, 5.01 ERA) against Colorado’s German Marquez (3-14, 6.73) in the second contest of a three-game series.
The Rockies rallied Friday night to take the first game of the series, 7-6.
Los Angeles (69-85) has not finished above .500 since 2015 and it last reached the postseason in 2014, which is the longest active playoff drought in the majors. Mike Trout is the only player on the roster who has played in a postseason game for the Angels.
Trout, who remains a homer shy of the 400 club after going 0-for-4 on Friday night, laments a missed opportunity after Los Angeles was 43-43 on July 1.
“It’s definitely tough,” Trout said. “It seemed like we were having a pretty good stretch during the middle of the season, and it just got away from us. We’ve been banged up, not making excuses. But we had some guys come up and it’s been a good experience for younger guys. We had some guys that made a big jump this year.”
Hendricks, in his first season with the Angels after 10 years with the Chicago Cubs, is making his 12th career start against the Rockies. He is 4-3 with a 3.95 ERA in the previous 11 outings. Six of those games were in Denver, where he is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA.
The Rockies (42-112), like Los Angeles, are wrapping up a disappointing season. Colorado has set a franchise record for losses at home (55) and overall and will finish with more than 100 losses for the third straight year.
The Rockies have shown a knack for late rallies but most of them have fallen short.
“It just isn’t enough,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “You want to win games. That’s the goal. The goal isn’t to come back … but end every (game) with a loss. That’s not the goal. It’s good that they keep fighting.”
It has been a down year for Marquez, whose 14 losses are a career high. The veteran, who has spent his entire career with the Rockies since his debut in late 2016, could be making his last start at Coors Field in a Colorado uniform. His two-year, $20 million contract is up at the end of the year, and his future is murky.
He was the subject of trade rumors before he landed on the injured list with right bicep tendinitis on July 23rd. He was pitching well before the injury but has struggled in his four starts since his return, going 0-3 with a 8.45 ERA.
In two career starts against the Angels he is 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA, and his lone home start against them he allowed two runs over seven innings and received a no-decision.
–Field Level Media
