OC Register: Failed suicide squeeze costs Angels as comeback comes up short

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — The Angels are trying whatever they can to get out of this rut.

A failed suicide squeeze in the eighth inning cost the Angels a chance at the tying run in a 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

With the bases loaded and one out, Zach Neto took off from third as Luis Guillorme squared to bunt. The pitch was well outside and Guillorme couldn’t get the bat on it, so Neto was out at the plate. Guillorme then struck out to end the inning. Cardinals left-hander Jo Jo Romero had walked the previous two hitters before the Angels tried the squeeze.

The missed opportunity cost the Angels on a night when they showed some life by overcoming an early five-run deficit to tie the score in the fifth inning.

But left-hander Amir Garrett hung a 3-and-1 slider to left-handed hitter Alec Burleson, who crushed it for a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to put the Cardinals back ahead, 7-5.

The Angels got back one of those runs on a Kevin Pillar RBI single in the seventh, but they couldn’t get any more.

The Angels (15-28) lost for the fifth time in their last six games and dropped to 5-16 at home.

This could have been one of their most encouraging victories.

Down 5-0 in the third inning, the Angels rallied to tie the score by the fifth.

Nolan Schanuel drove in the third with the first of his two hits. In the fourth, Willie Calhoun and Pillar had singles ahead of a Logan O’Hoppe three-run homer. It was O’Hoppe’s third homer of the season.

The Angels completed the comeback with a run on a Taylor Ward sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Although they couldn’t rally for the victory, they at least took Reid Detmers off the hook for a loss.

Detmers allowed five runs – four earned – in five innings.

Over his last four starts he has a 10.61 ERA, which has raised his ERA for the season to 5.19. He began the season with a 2.12 ERA in his first five starts.

There were some positives from this one for Detmers.

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He threw 69 of his 95 pitches for strikes, which is a very good ratio. He also had slightly more velocity on his fastball than usual.

In the second inning, he gave up two runs, one on a wild pitch and a second when third baseman Cole Tucker made a bad throw on what should have been an out at the plate.

In the third, Detmers loaded the bases with one out – including an infield hit and a walk. He struck out Nolan Gorman for the second out, but then he hung a 3-and-2 curve to Pedro Pagés, who yanked a ground ball just inside third base for a three-run double.

At that point the Angels were down 5-0, but the hitters soon came to life and Detmers tacked on two scoreless innings.

More to come on this story.

View the full article

[EDinTUSTIN]

1 hour ago, AngelsWin.com said:

ANAHEIM — The Angels are trying whatever they can to get out of this rut.

A failed suicide squeeze in the eighth inning cost the Angels a chance at the tying run in a 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

With the bases loaded and one out, Zach Neto took off from third as Luis Guillorme squared to bunt. The pitch was well outside and Guillorme couldn’t get the bat on it, so Neto was out at the plate. Guillorme then struck out to end the inning. Cardinals left-hander Jo Jo Romero had walked the previous two hitters before the Angels tried the squeeze.

The missed opportunity cost the Angels on a night when they showed some life by overcoming an early five-run deficit to tie the score in the fifth inning.

But left-hander Amir Garrett hung a 3-and-1 slider to left-handed hitter Alec Burleson, who crushed it for a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to put the Cardinals back ahead, 7-5.

The Angels got back one of those runs on a Kevin Pillar RBI single in the seventh, but they couldn’t get any more.

The Angels (15-28) lost for the fifth time in their last six games and dropped to 5-16 at home.

This could have been one of their most encouraging victories.

Down 5-0 in the third inning, the Angels rallied to tie the score by the fifth.

Nolan Schanuel drove in the third with the first of his two hits. In the fourth, Willie Calhoun and Pillar had singles ahead of a Logan O’Hoppe three-run homer. It was O’Hoppe’s third homer of the season.

The Angels completed the comeback with a run on a Taylor Ward sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Although they couldn’t rally for the victory, they at least took Reid Detmers off the hook for a loss.

Detmers allowed five runs – four earned – in five innings.

Over his last four starts he has a 10.61 ERA, which has raised his ERA for the season to 5.19. He began the season with a 2.12 ERA in his first five starts.

There were some positives from this one for Detmers.

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• Los Angeles Angels |
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• Los Angeles Angels |
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• Los Angeles Angels |
  Angels’ struggling Reid Detmers searching for solutions
• Los Angeles Angels |
  Angels’ offense continues to struggle while Patrick Sandoval endures one bad inning
• Los Angeles Angels |
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He threw 69 of his 95 pitches for strikes, which is a very good ratio. He also had slightly more velocity on his fastball than usual.

In the second inning, he gave up two runs, one on a wild pitch and a second when third baseman Cole Tucker made a bad throw on what should have been an out at the plate.

In the third, Detmers loaded the bases with one out – including an infield hit and a walk. He struck out Nolan Gorman for the second out, but then he hung a 3-and-2 curve to Pedro Pagés, who yanked a ground ball just inside third base for a three-run double.

At that point the Angels were down 5-0, but the hitters soon came to life and Detmers tacked on two scoreless innings.

More to come on this story.

View the full article

Detmers seems to have reverted back to his inconsistent self. With the stuff he has, he continues to be an enigma. To be fair, the lack of talented defenders doesn't help his cause or confidence, but he continues to disappoint. 

That squeeze attempt was ludicrous, absolutely absurd. Romero couldn't find the strike zone to save his life, so they decide to give him an easy out and quash any chance of a big inning? I mean, who came up with that gem?

[jsnpritchett]

8 minutes ago, EDinTUSTIN said:

That squeeze attempt was ludicrous, absolutely absurd. Romero couldn't find the strike zone to save his life, so they decide to give him an easy out and quash any chance of a big inning? I mean, who came up with that gem?

[Chuck]

Our take:

I will also add that Ron Washington has no clue or is blind if he thinks Jo Jo Romero was in the strike zone. I mean, what game was he watching?

Lastly, you got to have your players back. I mean at the very least say it was a risky play (I mean it's called a suicide squeeze for a reason), and the pitch wasn't ideal for laying down a bunt. 

[James]

Ron Washington's call to bunt was a terrible call, that was bad enough.

Ron Washington then not owning his mistake and blaming the player is deserving of being let go.

He asked a guy who wasn't even on the team until a few weeks back to lay down a bunt in a situation where a bunt made zero sense. Pitcher was wild and there was nothing that supported that you could feel comfortable that a strike was likely. 

The Angels have an obvious culture issue at every level of the organization. Accountability sure seems to be lacking across the board. 

[fan_since79]

A head scratcher call, doesn't make any sense. Was he afraid of an inning ending double play? Pitcher had zero control, chances of another walk are much higher.  Boneheaded decision ruined a nice rally and basically lost the game. 

[full circle]

Great managerial hire. 

[DMVol]

8 minutes ago, full circle said:

Great managerial hire. 

There isn't a manager who could make this team any good....

[Slegnaac]

15 minutes ago, DMVol said:

There isn't a manager who could make this team any good....

But there are some that could make it worse. 

[jsnpritchett]

4 minutes ago, Slegnaac said:

But there are some that could make it worse. 

[Duren, Duren]

If you are going to mix in 'small ball' it has to be situationally smart. You need the right people in place to execute and recognize how the pitcher is throwing his most recent pitches. A suicide bunt with a newly acquired part time player against a wild pitcher? 

Washington came  hyped as a patient teacher. It seems he is losing patience. Doing more risky, low percentage things. And his teaching has yet to pay dividends though that isn't an instant fix. 

But with key injuries and desperate journeymen acquisitions panic and frustration is understandable. 

He and the team would be better off just acknowledging a true rebuild. But then again how do you really have a serious rebuild when the farm system hasn't produced enough of the right prospects? 

So it looks like the season will be more of the same. Maybe by the end some of the younger guys will have progressed. And maybe Washington makes a dent in tightening up team play and changing the culture. But so far he's as disappointing as the team is. 

[Swordsman78]

2 hours ago, Chuck said:

Our take:

I will also add that Ron Washington has no clue or is blind if he thinks Jo Jo Romero was in the strike zone. I mean, what game was he watching?

Lastly, you got to have your players back. I mean at the very least say it was a risky play (I mean it's called a suicide squeeze for a reason), and the pitch wasn't ideal for laying down a bunt. 

On Point.

@BTH @Blarg  He used the "c" word.  
 

lolz

Edited May 15 by Swordsman78

[Swordsman78]

1 hour ago, jsnpritchett said:

There are some who could make it worse 

FIFY

[Swordsman78]

Not exactly "12 o'clock high" Leadership.   

 

[m0nkey]

Not really relevant because it had no impact on the inning, but why didn't all runners go instead of just Neto on third? Why was there even a throw to third to try and get Paris, and why didn't Schanuel also go from first? It's not like you have to worry about a triple play if the bunt is popped up since there was already an out before the play happened.

[Jeremiah]

I have to disagree with that take. It does matter where the ball is. If Guillorme has to leave the box or touches the plate to chase that, he’s out automatically. That pitch got to him in another time zone. Plus, we don’t even know what kind of a bunter Guillorme is, or any modern baseball player is for that matter. I’m not sure it’s even emphasized much anymore as a hitter develops. Small ball isn’t played much these days. It’s 100% on Wash.

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Odd, we were taught never to squeeze lefty vs lefty as there was an open tag lane to the runner with no one in front of the catcher blocking their view....

[greginpsca]

Since Sosh left I have seen angel hitters try to bunt less than 10 times. Only 2 times have I seen a good bunt layed down. It is like they never practice bunting. Which brings the question, WHY?

[jsnpritchett]

Washington isn't backing down.

 

[fan_since79]

2 hours ago, greginpsca said:

Since Sosh left I have seen angel hitters try to bunt less than 10 times. Only 2 times have I seen a good bunt layed down. It is like they never practice bunting. Which brings the question, WHY?

Modern baseball approach is to swing for the fences. Exit velocity, distance, etc etc 

Real baseball is fading away.

 

[greginpsca]

7 minutes ago, fan_since79 said:

Modern baseball approach is to swing for the fences. Exit velocity, distance, etc etc 

Real baseball is fading away.

 

That is why they can't win.