Angels Bats Go Cold As They Lose 1-0 To Cards

The Los Angeles Angels had a chance to get a rare series sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals, but their bats went quiet in a 1-0 loss as the Cardinals salvaged the final game. 

The Angels once again showcased starter Reid Detmers, who’s expected to be moved at the trade deadline, and Detmers was strong once again as he gave the Angels a great chance to win.

He allowed just two hits in 5-1/3 innings, but unfortunately one of them was a solo homer from JJ Wetherholt in the fifth inning tha gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead. 

Most of the rest of this one was about the Angels offense failing. Hunter Dobbins was the starter for the Cardinals, and he scattered six hits in six innings as he struck out five without giving up a walk. Luis Gastelum picked up Dobbins with a scoreless seventh, and George Soriano did the same in the eighth. 

The Angels had an opportunity to once again go against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, who blew a save on Monday in the series opener. The Angels did get a runner on initially as Jo Adell walked, and pinch runner Jose Siri stole second on a wild pitch that went to the backstop. A walk to Wade Meckler put the tying and winning runs on base, but O’Brien came back to strike out the side and help St. Louis get the win. 

Detmers took a brutal loss, but at this point in the season he’s basically a trade piece, so in that sense he did his job. It was his second straight excellent start, and the Angels should get a nice haul for him given that he’s now done enough lately to start a bidding war between prospective suitors in a market that’s very short on starters. 

As for the offense, this was one of those games that reminds you of why the Angels are sellers. They got seven hits and a pair of walks but couldn’t score, and they struck out a total of nine times as Cardinals pitcherrs had no trouble putting away the Halos when key outs were needed. The lone base hit was a double by Zach Neto off Dobbins, with the rest of the hits being singles. 

The Angels now get a day off before heading up the coast for a three game series against the San Francisco Giants, with Grayson Rodriguez getting the start against Logan Webb for the Giants.