Angels Return To Their Losing Ways As Mark Vientos Powers Mets To A 5-1 Win
The Los Angeles Angels couldn't hit against the Mets, and the bullpen couldn't pitch, so the result was predictable.
The Los Angeles Angels have been stuck in a rut lately when it comes to finding ways to lose, and today they dropped a 5-1 decision to the New York Mets as Mark Vientos powered the Mets with a pair of two-run homers to help New York take the rubber game of their three-game set. The Angels scored first in this one on a pair of walks to Zach Neto and Mike Trout, and Jorge Soler picked up Neto with an RBI single. It looked like the Angels would be able to send starter Clay Holmes packing early after the 27-pitch inning, but the Angels bats went quiet after that initial run and they ended up with just five more singles for the day.
The Halos also wasted another fine start from Jack Kochanowicz, who struggled with his breaking stuff but was able to keep the Mets at bay despite plenty of traffic. The Mets finally broke through on the first of Vientos’ two homers to make it 2-1, but Kochanowicz kept it close into the seventh as he gave up just two runs in 6-1/3 innings. After that the Angels bullpen got in on the action, and that’s bad news these days.
Tayler Saucedo was able to pick up Kochanowicz when the starter ran out of gas in the seventh, but Saucedo was lifted in the eighth after hitting Brett Baty with a pitch, and Saucedo was charged with a run when Nick Sandlin came in and poured gas on the fire by giving a run-scoring double to Carson Benge, then another two-run bomb by Vientos. There weren’t many Halos heroes in this one other than Kochanowicz, although Nolan Schanuel had a pair of hits and Mike Trout got on base twice with a hit and a walk. Everyone else had a quiet day as Mets pitchers ended up striking out 11, with Holmes getting the win.
The Angels have now lost 12 of their last 14 games, and they’ve dropped back into the basement of the AL West after a promising start. They host the scrappy Chicago White Sox for a three-game set tomorrow night as Jose Soriano will once again try to come to the Halos’ rescue, but given the state of the Angels bullpen even that’s not a given right now. This is starting to look like a developmental version of last year unless the Angels can find some relievers who can keep the same things from happening in one game after another.