ANAHEIM, Calif. — Another game, another bullpen blowing a lead.
The Angels led 3-0 entering the sixth inning, but right-handed starting pitcher Walber Ureña left the game injured after a 103 mph hit off his shin during the first pitch.
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The Angels’ bullpen has since allowed three earned runs in four innings and lost to the New York Mets 4-3 on Friday night, extending the Angels’ losing streak to seven games.
“We’re going to take responsibility for it,” left-hander Brent Suter said of the bullpen during the losing streak. “We’re going to make some adjustments and keep attacking. But the key is we have to keep wanting the ball.
“Once you fold up and don’t want the ball or don’t want the responsibility, that’s when things really go wrong. So you have to keep a warrior effort and a warrior mentality and continue to want the ball.”
Urena took a few warmup shots before leaving the game and walked off the court under his own power. After the game, coach Suzuki Kurt said Urena was substituted as a precaution. Suzuki also said it appeared to be just a scratch and no further testing was needed.
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He was actually pretty crazy until his outing came to an abrupt end.
Urena pitched five innings, with the only run scored coming by third baseman Bo Bichette, who hit Urena’s returner. He allowed just two hits and struck out four, but also walked three batters.
“You can see now that he’s settled in,” Suzuki said. “He’s started some games. Not the pressure, but the anxiety of going out there and you’ll see him slow down and it’s fun to watch him when he’s like that.
Despite being in the strike zone only 44 percent of the time, 60 percent of Urena’s pitches were strikes because of his ability to get hitters out of the strike zone.
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“Coming back to Kansas City, I tried to do a lot of things there,” Urena said. “Here I try to be quiet, aggressive and calm every time.”
The Angels’ bullpen has now allowed 28 earned runs in the final 28 ⅓ innings pitched, for an 8.89 ERA. For the entire season, the bullpen had a 5.69 ERA.
“We can’t fold the tent,” Suter said. “Can’t do it. It’s too hard for the league to fold the tent. We have to stay the course, keep fighting, keep wanting the ball and then things will turn around, but it’s definitely heavy right now.”
It all started with Suter, who succeeded Ureña. Suter struck out two but also had two hits, including an RBI double from catcher Francisco Alvarez, to advance the Mets.
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“Obviously, the pitch I wanted was an 0-2 changeup against Alvarez,” Suter said. “Kind of have him where I want him. That’s outside, but if I knock it down and away, it’s a foul ball or a ground ball or a swing-and-miss. Instead, he has a chance to hit the ball with his bat and hit it out of the infield.”
Right-hander Chase Silces then came on and allowed a two-run homer to second baseman Marcus Semien, which put both runners on base and tied the game at 3-3.
“When we make these mistakes, we pay the price,” Suzuki said. “So, it looks like it was a couple of two-bats in the zone instead of a smoked ball, but they put the bat on it and now it’s looking for holes.”
In the seventh inning, right-hander José Fermin gave up a single to shortstop Ronny Mauricio, the Mets’ nine-hole batter, giving the Mets a one-run lead.
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An insurmountable lead as the Angels’ bats went ice cold after the first inning.
The Angels failed to score another hit after designated hitter Jorge Soler hit a two-run homer in Game 1. Shortstop Zach Neto, the Angels’ only other baserunner, was hit by a pitch in the third inning to take the lead. He then scored on a stolen base and throwing error by Alvarez.
After Neto loaded the bases in the third inning, the Mets retired their remaining 21 batters. The Angels struck out 14 on the night, and center fielder Mike Trout, third baseman Yoan Moncada and right fielder Joe Adell all had hat tricks.
“It seems like pitcher (Christian) Scott has adapted and executed the pitches better,” Suzuki said. “It’s hard to see from the side, inside and out, but he looked like he was attacking the strike zone and keeping us off balance, and you could see his confidence growing as the game went on.”
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The Angels are currently on a seven-game losing streak, losing 11 of their last 12 games. Their seven-game losing streak came against the 13-19 Kansas City Royals, 15-17 Chicago White Sox and 11-21 Mets.
The Angels currently have a record of 12-21.
Throughout, the clubhouse remained intact and focused on the next day.
“There’s no finger pointing,” Suter said. “There’s nothing to blame. If anything, I’m not mad at them. I totally understand that. A lot of these losses you can put on the bullpen’s shoulders, and I’ll be the first one to wear that, individually and as a group.
“But this club is a special group. Our players are absolute warriors and motivated and ready to give it their all and win every day.”
