ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels were prone to getting runs on their recent road trip. Now, not so much.
After returning from a successful seven-game road trip in which they averaged over seven points per game and scored eight points in their first home game back, the Angels have now scored just four points in their past three games.
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That includes a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night, when the Angels struck out 18 times.
Over the past three games, the Angels (11-13) have struck out 39 but allowed just 14 hits.
“You could say this is baseball,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “You could say we were cold. I really thought the pitchers we faced tonight, (Dylan) Seth, and then those three guys before (Jeff) Huffman, (Louis) Wallander and (Taylor) Rodgers and (Brayden) Fisher, you look up and those guys all had an ERA under one. So, they’ve been pretty good all year long. So, it was definitely a tough task tonight.”
During their road trip on April 9, the Angels’ 29.2% strikeout rate was the worst in the majors. Through eight games, including the road trip and opening game, they struck out 17.2 percent of the time, the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball during that period.
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The Angels opened the scoring in the first inning with a double by first baseman Nolan Shanur down the left field line, followed by an RBI double by designated hitter Jorge Soler.
In the third inning, shortstop Zach Neto led off the inning with a walk and center fielder Mike Trout followed with a single. Neto and Trout then executed two steals, allowing Sanuel to take a sacrifice fly on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
After the fifth inning, the Angels were unable to reach scoring position the rest of the way.
Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease struck out 12 in five innings against the Angels.
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“I think his stuff is very electric,” Suzuki said. “You know, 99 (per hour) speed and a couple breaking balls and a good changeup.”
Left-hander Reed Detmers had a strong outing today, allowing four earned runs, five strikeouts and two walk-offs in six innings.
“My body feels good,” Detmers said. “The first few innings were a little rough, but then I figured it out going into the fourth inning. I mean, that’s what it is. It felt good after the fourth inning. Made a couple mistakes, but that’s baseball.”
Detmers’ first error came in the third inning, when he left a changeup in the center of home plate to Blue Jays first baseman Vadimir Guerrero Jr., who hit a two-run home run into the thickets in center field.
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The next error came in the sixth inning when Detmers’ 0-2 curveball caught too many home runs and Blue Jays second baseman Lenyn Sosa hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead.
“I just kept kicking myself after that,” Detmers said. “I should have thrown a slider. Walking off the mound, I was pretty mad at myself for not throwing a slider, but you live and learn.”
Command was another issue for Detmers at times throughout the night, especially with his fastball. His fastball only hit 34 percent of the time, but he still hit 55 percent of the time because he kept hitters chasing them out of the zone.
“You have to believe it,” Detmers said. “You have to trust the process. It’s not always going to be there. But luckily, my offspeed pitches were good enough at the time that I could rely on them when the fastball wasn’t there. And then the fastball started coming back in the fifth and sixth.”
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The Blue Jays continued to take the lead in the eighth inning when right fielder Myles Straw led off the bases and then pinch hitter Nathan Lukes scored on a single. The Blue Jays scored again in the ninth on Straw’s single, then catcher Logan Ohope’s pass to second, then catcher Tyler Heineman’s sacrifice bunt to third and Lukes’ groundout to score.
The pass that led to the Blue Jays’ elimination set up a rough night for Ohope, who went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts.
The Angels will open the series Tuesday night with right-hander Jack Kochanowicz on the mound.
