The Los Angeles Angels bullpen keeps blowing leads, and the Angels keep losing as their latest streak continued.
The Los Angeles Angels lost yet another game due to their bad bullpen, as the Chicago White Sox tied the game at 2-2 in the ninth, then walked it off in extra innings in the tenth inning as two Angels relievers failed to complete a simple scoreless inning. The loss was the sixth straight for the Halos, and they’ve also lost 10 of their last 11 games.
The White Sox started the scoring in this one after an unfortunate pitching change, as Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi had to leave the game due to left shoulder tightness. Mitch Farris stepped in to pitch the third, and he immediately gave up a run on a single by Miguel Vargas that scored Chase Meidroth.
But the Angels have Mike Trout, so no lead is safe when they’re within scoring range of a Trout homer this month. Trout deposited a pitch by Erick Fedde in the left-field bullpen, and just like that the game was tied at 1-1.
Farris gave the Angels a nice relief stint overall as he gave up just that lone run in 3-2/3 innings, and Chase Silseth stepped in to finish the sixth as the Hales snuffed out a White Sox rally with a couple of excellent defensive plays by right fielder Jorge Soler and second baseman Adam Frazier.
The Angels couldn’t solve Fedde, though, as the game turned into a tight pitchers duel until Vaughn Grissom broke the tie with another solo shot to left to make it 2-1. It was his first homer with the Halos, and he’s become a strong contributor to the Angels’ formidable offense.
Sam Bachman picked up Silseth by getting a couple of outs to finish the sixth, and Ryan Zeferjahn was next up in relief. Zeferjahn started out strong by striking out the side in the eighth, but he couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth when manager Kurt Suzuki elected to bring him out for a second inning.
The trouble started when the reliever hit Tristan Peters, and a triple by Sam Antonacci tied the game. Zeferjahn was able to get out of the inning to send the game to extra innings, but it felt like it was only a matter time before the Angels found a way to lose.
The Angels went out in order in the tenth against White Sox closer Seranthony Dominguez, and Suzuki turned to Drew Pomeranz to try to preserve the tie. Pomeranz intentionally walked Miguel Vargas behind the ghost runner, but he also walked the next hitter, Munetaka Murakami, to load the bases with nobody out.
The reliever did get one out on a groundout by Austin Hays to Zach Neto with the infield drawn in for a force play, but a line drive to short center by Colson Montgomery brought home the winning run for the White Sox. We’ve seen this movie before, and we’ll likely see it again until the Angels find some reliable relievers.