It can always get worse. This is a lesson you’d think I would have learned by now, but apparently not. On Tuesday, just 48 hours after they seemed to hit rock bottom, the Angels suffered their worst loss since Opening Day.
The 8-1 battering at the hands of the Cardinals put all of the team’s shortcomings on display in an unflattering light: The new anchor of the team’s razor-thin rotation, Hector Santiago, lasted just 4⅓ innings and now has a 6.46 ERA over his last three starts; the overworked bullpen looked the part, as a veritable fleet of mop-up men worked the final 4⅔ innings, allowing four runs on three home runs; and the power-sapped offense was an anemic as ever, tallying one or fewer extra-base hit for the third straight game.
I’d like to say with confidence that this was the true nadir of the 2016 season, but there’s just no telling if that’s really the case. Strap in, folks, there are 130 of these to go.
Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PqmULqy0Byu5Kqp8Nj7-aKi6xmM_L44yPZLPO78-vjM/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /]The offense was even worse Tuesday than the boxscore lets on. Both of Johnny Giavotella‘s hits were infield singles, and one of Yunel Escobar‘s two knocks was as well. Mike Trout again reached base twice and has now reached in 23 of his last 24 games, which is nice, but means little when the guys behind him can’t bring him home: Albert Pujols went 0-for-4 on the night and is now 1-for-17 over the last five games; Daniel Nava went 0-for-3 and is now 1-for-12 since returning from the DL.
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PqmULqy0Byu5Kqp8Nj7-aKi6xmM_L44yPZLPO78-vjM/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /]The Cardinals had two more extra-base hits (9) than the Angels had hits Tuesday. Matt Carpenter set the tone with a leadoff home run, then followed with another solo shot in the sixth. Randal Grichuk and Matt Holliday also went deep, with the latter adding two doubles for good measure. Stephen Piscotty, Yadier Molina, and Aledmys Diaz also got in on the doubles action. Severe-regression candidate Jeremy Hazelbaker was the only starter without a hit.
Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PqmULqy0Byu5Kqp8Nj7-aKi6xmM_L44yPZLPO78-vjM/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /]Hector Santiago’s velocity plunge over the last two weeks really does seem to fall within his normal range, but that doesn’t make it any less worrying. The reason Santiago was so effective through his first few starts is because his fastball had enough stuff on it to induce a bunch of whiffs—he averaged 8 swings-and-misses on his fastball per start through his first four outings. On Tuesday, Santiago got just two swings-and-misses with his heater. Predictably, it did not end well.
Mike Leake‘s ERA dropped nearly a full run Tuesday thanks to the Angels offense. It was the first time in seven this season that he’s allowed fewer than four runs.
Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PqmULqy0Byu5Kqp8Nj7-aKi6xmM_L44yPZLPO78-vjM/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /]The Angels called on a couple sacrificial lambs to eat innings Tuesday. Javy Guerra played the part a little too well, surrendering two runs, three hits, and a walk without retiring anybody. A.J. Achter did much better, also surrendering two runs but managing to last three full innings. The Cardinals bullpen, meanwhile, didn’t have much to do. Tyler Lyons threw a scoreless ninth.
Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PqmULqy0Byu5Kqp8Nj7-aKi6xmM_L44yPZLPO78-vjM/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /]You can almost pinpoint the moment Randal Grichuk put the knife in.
Angel Antagonist
Hector, you picked a really bad time to turn back into a pumpkin.
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