The Los Angeles Angels had three relievers pitch before right-hander Alek Manoah tossed the final five innings against the Cleveland Guardians in the series opener Monday.
The Los Angeles Angels’ season is quickly getting away after another series opening loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
The Angels were 11-10 after defeating the San Diego Padres 8-0 in their series opener April 17. Since then, the Angels are 5-16 and are tied with the Houston Astros for worst team in the American League.
Los Angeles had a bullpen game, and it didn’t go well, with the Guardians ousting the Angels 7-2. Lefty Brent Suter was the opener and went 1.2 innings; he allowed two runs on two hits and one walk while striking out one. Jose Fermin took over for 0.2 innings and didn’t fare any better, as the right-hander served up three runs on one hit and three walks.
Veteran righty Kirby Yates took the ball for 0.2 innings, and it was the same situation. Two runs on two hits and a walk with one strikeout was his final line. The story of the game was right-hander Alek Manoah getting bulk innings for the first time in two years.
He pitched five scoreless innings and allowed only two hits with two punchouts, but he walked five batters and only 47 of his 91 pitches were strikes. Welcome back, Alek.
Right fielder Jo Adell and third baseman Vaughn Grissom knocked in runs in the eighth and ninth but it was much too little too late. Guardians lefty Joey Cantillo was sharp and threw six scoreless innings on five hits and one walk with four strikeouts to earn his third win.
More structure will be in place in game two of the series, with Angels right-hander Walbert Urena making his fifth start of the year. Urena will face right-hander Slade Cecconi, who has had a rough beginning to his campaign.
Urena is 1-3 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 22.1 innings (six appearances). He last worked against the Chicago White Sox and picked up his first career win after tossing six one-run innings on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Urena is much better at home than on the road, which is something to consider – he has a 2.12 ERA and a .143 opponent batting average in Anaheim but a 6.75 ERA and .393 OBA away.
Cecconi is 2-4 with a 6.15 ERA and 1.59 WHIP through eight starts (41 innings) but is coming off his second-best start of the season. Against the Kansas City Royals his last time out, Cecconi threw 5.1 innings of two-run ball and allowed six hits and three walks while fanning three to earn his second win.
Like Urena, Cecconi’s home splits are a lot better than his road splits but not as drastic as Urena’s. He did get both of his wins on the road, though, and they came in his last two starts.
First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.