The Los Angeles Angels couldn't hit or score runs in this series, and the result was a series sweep for Cleveland.
The Los Angeles Angels were swept out of their three-game set by the Cleveland Guardians, 3-2, as Cleveland continues to be a house of horrors for the Angels.
This was another winnable game where the Angels got close but couldn’t do enough offensively. The Guardians shot out of the gate as Angel Martinez led off the game with a solo homer, and Angels starter Reid Detmers gave up another run on a walk to Jose Ramirez, a single by Chase DeLauter and a sacrifice fly by David Fry.
That made it 2-0, and the Guardians made it 3-0 as third baseman Yoan Moncada gift-wrapped what became the winning run by fumbling the transfer on an an ordinary ground ball by Martinez. Martinez then stole second, then third as Jose Ramirez was hit by a pitch, and a sacrifice fly by DeLauter helped Cleveland score a run without a hit and go up 3-0.
The Angels finally got on the board against rookie starter Parker Messick in the fifth inning, and as usual power was part of the scoring equation. Oswald Peraza started the action with an infield single up the middle, and Zach Neto whacked a two-run homer to left to make it 3-2. It was the first time the Angels have scored an actual run against a starter in this road trip, but that was as close as the Angels would get.
The Guardians padded their lead in the sixth against Detmers with three singles. Rhys Hoskins got the first hit with Travis Bazzana adding another, and Daniel Schneeman drove him the run with another single to second to make it 4-2.
Messick got the win by going 6-2/3 innings and giving up just two runs on four hits to go with seven strikeouts. A trio of relievers followed, with Matt Festa helping Messick out of a jam in the seventh, after which Erik Sabrowski set up closer Cade Smith, who got his second straight save and his 13th of the year. Sabrowski and Smith both struck out the side in the eighth and ninth, respectively, as the Angels whiffed a total of 13 times for the day.
The Angels tried a lineup change that featured Vaughn Grissom leading off, and it did seem to unleash Neto as Grissom walked twice and Neto hit his two-run bomb from the sixth spot. The rest of the lineup was inert, however, as the Angels totaled just four hits.
Detmers gave up four runs, three of them earned, as he struck out six in 6-2/3 innings and he definitely deserved better in this one. But the Angels scored just six runs in three games, which is a solid formula for getting swept. The Halos are off tomorrow, and they’ll host the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game set as they’re now 12 games under .500 at 16-28.