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USATSI

Here in the era of social media, each team account on Twitter has a routine on gameday that includes tweeting out the starting lineup for the day. Monday evening, the Angels account posted the lineup for their game against the Rangers in Texas, and it also said, "there's a lot to emotionally process here." 

True story. It's a lot more loaded than it looked this past series in Houston. The excitement was with good reason, too, as the Angels cruised to a very exciting 9-4 win. 

What jumped out immediately were three things: 

  1. Anthony Rendon was back from the injured list.
  2. Mike Trout had returned to the lineup. 
  3. Shohei Ohtani was pitching and hitting second in the order. 

On the first point, Rendon has now only appeared in nine games this year. He injured his groin just over a week into the season. Rendon is such a good hitter that he changes the entire complexion of a lineup with his ability to work deep counts. In the previous four seasons, Rendon hit .307/.399/.550 (145 OPS+). Last season, his first with the Angels, he walked more than he struck out, a feat he also pulled off in 2017. He didn't do much Monday, but some rust was to be expected. He wasn't needed anyway. 

Trout hadn't played since getting hit with a pitch in the elbow last Thursday. We know all about how good Trout is, but he's been on another level this season, even with his established standard of greatness being the measuring stick. He went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI on Monday. He's now slashing .426/.539/.820. He leads the majors in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and OPS+. 

Ohtani had a rough first inning on the mound, coughing up four runs. After that, he kind of stole the show. At the plate, Ohtani went 2-for-3 with a walk, double, three runs scored and two RBI. He's now hitting .300/.341/.675 with five doubles, two triples, seven homers, 18 RBI and 17 runs in 20 games as a hitter this year. 

Ohtani made history before he even threw a pitch. Per Major League Baseball, this was the first time the pitcher is in a lineup while leading the league in homers since ... Babe Ruth. Yep. 

After allowing those four runs in the first inning, Ohtani would pitch four scoreless innings. He'd end up with nine strikeouts and got the win. On the mound, he's now 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.39 WHIP (walks have been an issue) and 23 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. 

We really are getting a glimpse of just how special a two-way weapon he can be. 

The Angels started the season 7-3, but struggled shortly thereafter and were 9-10 after a loss on Saturday. Part of the issue is that while they have immense elite-level talent in this trio, they aren't very deep. They are now 7-2 in Rendon starts. They took two losses over the weekend without Trout, too. 

The lineup now at full strength is pretty stout, especially with these three (Ohtani, Trout, Rendon) in between quality leadoff man David Fletcher (he's struggling so far this year, but perhaps getting everyone back will kickstart him) and slugging five-hole hitter Jared Walsh who went 3 for 5 with a pair of RBI on Monday. 

Now back at full strength in the lineup, the Angels are a team to watch. When Ohtani pitches, they are appointment television. It was on display Monday night.