Angels News: Shohei Ohtani is Smashing The Baseball in June

The Angels are on fire thanks to his red hot month.

When the Angels began the month of June, they were faced with a critical stretch of the season.

Falling further and further back in the AL West standings and hoping to stay within striking distance for a wild card spot, they needed a jolt in the worst way.

They started the month with three straight losses on the road to the Houston Astros and it looked like the Angels had begun to hit the proverbial wall they've ran into every season since they last made the playoffs in 2014.

Then Shohei Ohtani hit an extra gear, and the Halos have been cruising since.

Los Angeles has won eight of their last 10, made up crucial ground in the division, and only sit a meager 1.5 games back of the last wild card spot in the American League.

About the Angels' two-way star, he's in the middle of a incredible power surge, an assertion that's more than reflected by the numbers.

Summertime Sho. pic.twitter.com/qFLigAz5s4

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 15, 2023

He's slashing an absurd .423/.500/.904 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI over 13 games this month, leading to his MLB-leading OPS in June.

That pace is driving the Angels to be one of the hotter teams in the sport this month, and while he's unlikely to continue at this rate over the long term, the Halos will be riding Ohtani's bat for as long as it remains burning.

They currently sit in the No. 12 slot in MLB's weekly power rankings, up from their previous rank of 16, and that number is sure to be even higher as long as the Angels keep racking up the much needed wins.

As for tonight, the Angels will try to win a road series against the division-leading Rangers, and Ohtani will be on the mound facing Nathan Eovaldi in the fourth and final game of the crucial set.