The Los Angeles Angels got off to an early lead against the Guardians, but they couldn't hold it.
The Los Angeles Angels lost the series finale against the Cleveland Guardians last night, 4-3, to ensure yet another winning season as the franchise continues to redefine the concept of futility.
The Angels’ one strength lately has been starting pitching, and Grayson Rodriguez continued his intermittent turnaround with 5-2/3 innings of one-run ball as he scattered seven hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts.
Surprisingly, the Angels even gave him a lead to work with, as they scored a run in the first and two more in the second off Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo. The first run scored on an infield hit by Vaughn Grissom and a thowing error by Cantillo that allowed Zach Neto to score after Neto singled.
The runs in the second came when Cantillo walked three hitters, then hit Neto with a pitch to double the Halos lead. Mike Trout chipped in with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0, and it looked like the Angels were in good shape.
Cleveland got on the board against Rodriguez in the fifth with a sacrifice fly from Travis Bazzana to make it 3-1, and that got Rodriguez out of the game. Cantillo wound up going six innings and giving up just those three runs, two of them earned despite walking seven to go with a pair of hits.
Trouble came calling for the Angels in the eighth when Nathaniel Lowe singled in a run off reliever Sammy Peralta to make it 3-2, and that set the stage for the Guardian’s ninth inning rally off Ryan Watson, who allowed back-to-back singles by Chase DeLauter and Brayan Rocchio to start the inning.
Steven Kwan then doubled to tie the game, and Bazzana drove home the game-winner with another sacrifice fly. Reliever Hunter Gaddis got the win for Cleveland, with Erik Sabrowski picking up his first save of the season. The win gave the Guardians the series sweep, and they’ve now won seven straight as they continue to chase the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
The loss dropped the Angels to 52-82, and it ensured yet another losing season, although that’s been a foregone conclusion for some time now. It also dropped the Angels back into the basement of the AL West, and it continued the Halos’ streak of losing seasons to 11 straight. The Angels now get a day off before hosting the Philadelphia Phillies in a weekend series.
