The Los Angeles Angels had a chance to sweep their series against the Seattle Mariners, but Yusei Kikuchi disappointed.
The Los Angeles Angels returned to their familiar losing ways against the Seattle Mariners in the third game of their series, losing 7-2 as starter Yusei Kikuchi gave it up big in the middle innings to put the Halos in a hole that kept them from completing a series sweep.
Seattle scored two runs off Kikuchi in the top ofthe first on a sacrifice fly from Cal Raleigh and an RBI single from Josh Naylor, but the Angels got one back in their half of the inning as Vaughn Grissom got a run home with a sac fly of his own.
The Halos tied the game in the second at 2-2, with Adam Frazier scoring the run with a single, but that was as good as it got for the Angels.
Kikuchi held up until the fifth, but the Mariners rallied in that inning to put up a crooked number to ice the game. Raleigh once again led the way with an RBI double to score the first one, with a grounder from Naylor scoring the second run of the inning. The Angels then helped out with some bad defense on a throwing error by Grissom as the first baseman’s gaffe got the third run home.
That made it 5-2, and Seattle piled on in the sixth off reliever Sammy Peralta with a pair of RBI singles from Dominic Canzone and Raleigh to produce the 7-2 final score.
The loss ended a brief run of strong starts from Kikuchi, who wound up with an ugly line that had him giving up five runs, four of them earned, to go with five hits, five walks and four strikeouts. This is closer to what we’re used to seeing from him, and one of the most important tasks facing the new regime will be to figure out exactly who Kikuchi is and whether he belongs in the starting rotation.
Several Angels did show signs of life offensively. Denzer Guzman had a four-hit game, and Moises Ballasteros continued to quietly boost his average with a two-hit night. Zach Neto had another two-hit game, but he also picked up his 18th error of the season, and he represents another puzzle for the new regime to figure out.
The quest continues to be trying avoid a 100-loss season, and the series win definitely helps. The Angels now have 10 games left, and they need to go 5-5 to keep this from happening, with the limping Minnesota Twins next up on the docket.
