Angels Relief Pitcher Hopes to Find Himself During IL Stint

He's been his harshest critic all year!

The Angels have been playing some of their most consistent baseball all season and while some games still have been dropped in dramatic fashion, it is looking like their players on both offense and defense are getting more comfortable in the later innings.

Those first few weeks of the 2023 season, it felt like leads just could not be held onto and all the work that the starting pitchers put in would go to waste. Look no further than the first games of the season against the Oakland Athletics. Shohei Ohtani whipped up a masterclass of 10 strikeouts only for Aaron Loup to give up numerous hits late in the game that led to a 2-1 loss.

Loup famously admitted he was pitching nervously and referred to himself as a very harsh slur.

Aaron Loup said he was "pitching scared" and "like a little bitch."

He called his performance "probably the most embarrassing of my career."

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) March 31, 2023

In the nine innings he's taken the mound for the Halos this year, Loup has not been reliable at all. He is posting an ERA of 7.00 and has given up 14 hits in that time span.

He was recently sent to the IL due to a hamstring issue and during his time away from the team, he was able to catch up with The Athletic's Sam Blum and shed some light on how he hopes his recovery will benefit his play.

“I’ve been searching all season to try and figure that out,” Loup said of his struggles. “Whether it’s been sequencing or pitch execution, I feel like my stuff’s been fine. It’s just for whatever reason, when the ball’s put in play, it seems to be in a hole. … It’s not like I’ve been hit really hard. What exactly it is, I don’t know. It’s what I’m hoping to find out here while I’ve got nothing to do for two weeks.”

(Via The Athletic)

Loup, at 35-years-old, is one of the most experienced players on the Angels' roster. He still has some left in the tank to be a productive member of their pitching staff and we are confident this time to himself will help him.