ANAHEIM — Patrick Sandoval had another off night, with the only solace being that he made it through five innings with the Angels still having a chance to win the game.
They didn’t.
Sandoval, the Angels’ Opening Day starter, has lost two of his three starts this season, including allowing four runs in the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
“It was a big struggle,” Manager Ron Washington said of Sandoval’s performance. “A lot of 3-2 counts. Just couldn’t command the fastball. Didn’t have any consistency with the offspeed, but he stayed in there.”
It was a disappointing night for the Angels after an encouraging start, with Mike Trout putting them on top with a two-run homer in the first inning.
The three-time American League MVP is the first player in Angels history to hit six homers in the first 11 games of the season. Trout’s homer was a two-run shot, the first of his homers that wasn’t a solo homer.
Otherwise, though, the Angels didn’t do much at the plate. They scored on an error in the fourth, and then didn’t even get another runner into scoring position until they were down to their last out and down by three in the ninth.
The Angels (6-5) couldn’t take Sandoval off the hook for the loss, even though it was a one-run game when he threw his final pitch. Sandoval didn’t make it out of the second inning in his Opening Day loss, but then he pitched well in a victory. This time he gave up four runs in five innings, lifting his ERA to 6.57.
“It’s still early,” Washington said. “He’s healthy. There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s just got to start commanding the baseball, especially the fastball, more frequently. I think once he starts commanding the fastball the rest of his stuff will play.”
Sandoval issued three walks, but one of them was questionable.
Sandoval appeared to get squeezed at times by plate umpire Bill Miller, including on a pitch that could have been the third strike on Curtis Mead to lead off the second. Mead ended up walking, sparking a two-run inning. The first of those runs came on a play that was initially ruled an out at the plate, but overturned on review.
Sandoval was also called for a balk when he had José Siri picked off in the fourth. And he was a victim of a misplay when right fielder Mickey Moniak failed to catch a fly ball after a long run just inside the foul line, leading to another run.
Despite all of that going against him, Sandoval still managed to get through five innings with the Angels in the game. They trailed 4-3 when he threw his 101st and final pitch in the fifth inning.
The hitters, though, couldn’t do anything else, and the bullpen allowed the lead to grow.
José Cisnero gave up a homer to Isaac Paredes in the seventh. His fly ball was barely inside the left field pole. Cisnero has allowed seven runs in 4⅓ innings so far this season.
In the eighth, Hunter Strickland gave up a run when José Caballero singled, stole second and scored on a two-out blooper into right.
Luis Rengifo drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth, and the Angels had the potential winning run at the plate. Pinch hitter Miguel Sanó took the final two pitches, both sliders that were called strikes.
“From my vantage, point (closer Pete Fairbanks) left two balls up,” Washington said. “I wish (Sanó) would have went for them. Take his chances. Go for them. I think those two balls up, if he took his chances, as strong as he is, something big may have happened. But I’m not in that batters’ box.”
