Angels GM Praises Ron Washington, Coaches Amid Dominant Stretch of Play

Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian gave credit to his coaching staff when discussing the Halos' MLB-high eight-game winning streak.

"We started off well, hit a little lull,” Minasian said. “We're playing well now. I mean, it’s baseball. But this is a group that works really hard. There's a lot of experience on the staff, good rapport with the players. There's an absolute respect from the players to the coaches, and vice versa. That’s really important. The work that they've put in, and it started last year, has started to pay dividends.”

Veteran right fielder Jorge Soler is among the players who have gone on to commend the staff and what they have done to get the team on track. Soler has a hit in his last three games, including a home run against the Miami Marlins Friday night.

The Angels have shot up the standings during their win streak, pulling themselves back to .500 and passing the slumping Athletics and the Texas Rangers in the AL West standings, where they sit two games out of first place. They are also two games out of a Wild Card spot after Friday's 7-4 win. Prior to facing the Marlins, the Angels swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dodger Stadium, then took all four games from the Athletics away from home.

The Angels have 19 home runs since the beginning of the streak May 16, which is five more than any other team. They lead MLB in slugging percentage during that span, and are second to only the Chicago Cubs in batting average and runs scored in that period.

No player in MLB has more home runs since May 16 than Taylor Ward and Logan O'Hoppe, as they both have five during the Angels' hot streak. Ward has 14 runs batted in during the stretch, as well as an insane slugging percentage of 1.094. He also has a batting average of .438 and an on base percentage of .500. His wRC+ sits at 325 since the first game against the Dodgers.

The Angels will continue their push for a playoff spot against the Marlins Saturday night, where they will face Cal Quantrill on the mound. First pitch is at 7:07 p.m. PT/10:07 p.m. ET.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.