Angels' Logan O'Hoppe to Miss Friday's Game Due to Ridiculous Reason

Noah Camras | Jul 19, 2024

Jul 9, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe (14) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a solo home run in the second inning against the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Angels are kicking off the second half of the 2024 season with a three-game series against the division-rival Athletics in Oakland.

However, they won't have their normal starting lineup on Friday night coming out of the break.

Catcher Logan O'Hoppe wasn't able to get back to California in time to suit up for Friday's game. O'Hoppe has dealt with significant flight issues that have prevented him from making it back in time for Friday's first pitch.

Angels manager Ron Washington told reporters that O'Hoppe recently landed and is expected to be in uniform with the team in Oakland. However, he won't be in the starting lineup, with catcher Matt Thaiss serving as the starter on Friday night.

O'Hoppe was supposed to be on a flight to San Francisco on Thursday that would have landed around 6:30 p.m. local time. Instead, he didn't get to Oakland until Friday around 4 p.m. local time.

O'Hoppe could potentially get into Friday night's game at some point as a pinch-hitter. If not, he'll be back in the lineup on Saturday for the second game of the series.

On the year, O'Hoppe is slashing .276/.328/.472 with 14 home runs and 42 runs batted in. He's made a big improvement off his 2023 season, and is looking to keep it going with a strong second half. His second half will just have to start one day later.