The Cleveland Guardians edged past the Angels 4-3 on Wednesday in the final game of a three-match series, completing what could only be called a sweep. This ended a run of three straight defeats for the home side against their rivals, following losses of 6-8 and 2-4 on the previous two evenings.
And here's the thing about these matchups — the Angels had looked competitive at times, particularly that 3-0 win over the Rangers earlier in the week. By then they were showing flashes of form, but against Cleveland they simply couldn't string together enough runs to stay in any of the games.
The visitors arrived at this series on something of a roll themselves. Before facing the Angels, Cleveland had won four of five against the Colorado Rockies, including a 9-1 drubbing on the 22nd and a close 4-3 victory after that. They came into Anaheim with confidence and carried it through.
To be fair, the Angels weren't outclassed in every sense. They scored three runs, which suggests they found opportunities when needed. But three runs isn't enough against a team that's just won consecutive games by wider margins. The difference came in the moments that mattered.
The sweep leaves the Angels looking at a difficult patch, having lost three straight to the same opponent. Cleveland, meanwhile, extends their momentum into this series with a 3-4 record against the Angels this season — a run they clearly intend to build on.