OC Register: Angels struggle everywhere in blowout loss to Red Sox

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — With a chance to win a series Sunday, the Angels instead got blown out.

Their 12-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox marked the fourth time in nine games that they’ve allowed at least eight runs, and the third time they’ve lost by at least eight.

On the bright side, the Angels are 5-4, which is a pace they’d be happy to keep all season.

They won’t be able to do that unless they start to get some better performances, at the plate and on the mound.

Starter Chase Silseth gave up three runs in five innings, and then the game got away with relievers José Cisnero and José Suarez on the mound. It got so bad that designated hitter Miguel Sanó was called on to pitch in the ninth.

Even with better pitching, the Angels would have lost because the hitters came up empty for most of the afternoon.

The Angels had opportunities in the first three innings but couldn’t convert. They left two runners on in the first and third. In the second, Sanó led off with a single and Logan O’Hoppe hit into a double play.

Their best chance came in the third, when leadoff man Anthony Rendon led off with a double, his second hit of the season. Nolan Schanuel moved him to third with a grounder. Mike Trout then walked and stole second, putting two runners in scoring position with one out.

Taylor Ward struck out and Brandon Drury grounded out.

The game was out of reach by the time Trout hit a homer – all four of his homers have been solo homers – to make it 8-1 in the eighth.

Rendon, Schanuel, Drury, Mickey Moniak and Zach Neto have all started the season poorly at the plate.

On the mound, Silseth gave up three solo homers in the third inning, the second time this weekend an Angels starter gave up three homers in an inning.

Those were the only three hits Silseth allowed. He retired seven of the next eight hitters after the homers.

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Silseth threw 91 pitches, and he noticeably lost some velocity on his fastball toward the end, which was one of the issues that had the Angels undecided on whether he should be a starter or reliever early in 2023. Silseth answered late in the season by doing a better job of holding his velocity, which encouraged the Angels to keep him in the rotation.

When Silseth left the game, the Angels were down 3-0. That quickly turned into a 7-0 deficit after Cisnero and Suarez allowed four runs in the sixth. Three of them came home on Reese McGuire’s homer against Suarez. Suarez was charged with three more runs in the ninth. After Guillo Zuñiga was unable to record even one out, the Angels ended up using Sanó, who retired the only batter he faced.

More to come on this story.

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