Ron Washington Believes Process Will Work For Mike Trout & Halos

Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels have quickly fallen on hard times at the plate. Manager Ron Washington’s offense averaged 4.7 runs per game during the first 18 games of the season, when L.A. was 9-9. But in their last five games, they are averaging 1.8 runs per game, had an 18-inning scoreless stretch and are 0-5. Trout has been at the forefront of these struggles.

The Angels were never expected to be a postseason contender in 2024 after losing Shohei Ohtani and not signing any major free agents. However, they were expected to at least be competitive, and in many of their losses this season, they haven’t been. And it’s largely due to an offense that has a tendency to go completely quiet if Trout is unable to connect at the plate. He had eight home runs in the team’s first 18 games and zero in the last five.

This came to a head on Monday night against the Baltimore Orioles, when Trout struck out looking with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 4-2 loss. The Angels squandered several opportunities to defeat the Orioles, but came up short.

Washington spoke about the poor offensive execution, saying that success will come with time this season, according to Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:

“We’re working,” Washington said. “We’re talking every day. We’re going through the process every day. We’ve got to wait for the process to work. I’m sitting on the bench. The guys between the lines have to get it done. And we’re working at it every single day. And at some point, we will put it together.”

Trout, for one, knows he needs to be better in big moments if the Angels are going to right the ship in the first month of the season.

“I think in the past week or two I’ve been off and on at the plate, feeling wise, as opposed to what I was at the beginning of the season,” Trout said. “Just trying to find some things. But no excuse. I gotta come through.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Angels bats, as when the Orioles leave town, they face the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians and Phillies both rank in the top five in team ERA so far this season, as of Tuesday afternoon.

Ron Washington helping Luis Rengifo with defense

Rengifo misplayed a ball at second base on Sunday that allowed the Reds to score three runs in an inning that would have ended had he secured a routine grounder from Nick Martini. It was the second game in a row that a Rengifo error led to runs for the Reds, as a throwing error resulted in Patrick Sandoval giving up a grand slam on Saturday in a 7-5 loss.

Washington admitted that Rengifo’s defense has been subpar as of late. However, he doesn’t want to make any grand conclusions about the young infielder and is working through the struggles with him.