Angels’ blown lead in nightmarish 9th inning extends losing streak to 7 games

ANAHEIM — Just when it seemed it finally might be the Angels’ night, they continued to sink.

Closer Carlos Estévez blew his second straight save opportunity – after converting his first 23 – in the Angels’ 8-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.

The Angels took a one-run lead into the ninth before allowing six runs in a nightmarish sequence of bad pitches and bad luck.

The Angels (56-58) have lost seven in a row, their longest losing streak since their 14-game skid last year.

“You’re gonna walk into that room and you’re gonna see some down dudes,” said Manager Phil Nevin, whose team has lost nine of 11 overall. “They’re upset. I talked to them about it before the game. I know the effort’s there. We’re playing hard. We’re playing baseball, trying to play to win and it’s tough when you lose. You got a room full of guys that want to win in the worst way. Fighting and come up short this many times in a row, in the position we’re in, it hurts. I know what they’re gonna do tomorrow. We’ve got a chance to win a game tomorrow, win a series, and that’s the way we look at it.”

Center fielder Mickey Moniak, who was briefly the hero after he robbed a homer that would have tied the score in the eighth, said the players continue to wash away each loss to prepare for a better outcome the next day.

“I think in this game, the best thing to do is to try to stay as even-keeled as possible,” Moniak said. “Never get too high. Never get too low. I think that’s what we’re trying to look to do right now, is just trying to stay even-keeled. Wake up tomorrow with the mindset of getting our work in and making sure we’re ready to go by game time.”

Estévez has been at the center of two of the recent defeats. An All-Star last month, Estevez suffered his first blown save of the season when he gave up a grand slam to Seattle’s Cade Marlowe in the ninth inning on Thursday, and he’s now blown two saves in five days. He was charged with nine runs in the two games.

Nevin suggested that Estévez could be feeling some fatigue, but Estévez said that’s not the problem.

“Honestly, I feel good,” he said. “I felt really good coming in today. I’ve just got to be better overall.”

Estévez took the mound with a 3-2 lead and he couldn’t get a single out before it became a one-run deficit.

Estévez gave up a leadoff single to Wilmer Flores. He then walked J.D. Davis. Patrick Bailey then hit a bloop into left field, just beyond the dive of Randal Grichuk. The ball rolled to the warning track as two runs scored.

After an intentional walk and a sacrifice, Estévez gave up a broken-bat single to Mark Mathias to drive in two insurance runs. The Giants added two more on hits against left-hander Aaron Loup.

Up until that point, the Angels had done just enough to have hope for a victory, making the most of two runs handed to them by the Giants’ defensive mistakes.

Moniak then preserved a one-run lead in the eighth by making a leaping catch at the fence, robbing a home run.

The Angels could have given themselves more margin for error, but their offense continues to struggle.

They were hitless in their first eight at-bats with runners in scoring position – extending their slump to 10 for 88 (.114) – before C.J. Cron finally connected with a two-out RBI single to tie the score, 1-1, in the sixth.

Moniak followed with a single into right-center. Outfielder Luis Matos bobbled the ball, prompting Angels third base coach Bill Haselman to wave Cron around. Cron would have been out at the plate, but catcher Patrick Bailey couldn’t hold the ball, so the Angels took a 2-1 lead.

The Giants tied it on a homer from Davis, a Cal State Fullerton product, in the seventh.

In the bottom of the inning, though, Grichuk hit a liner toward A.J. Pollock in right. Pollock slipped, and then the ball shot over his head as Grichuk cruised into third with a triple. Luis Rengifo then dumped a single over the drawn-in infield, his second hit of the night, to put the Angels ahead, 3-2.

By the time it was over, starter Patrick Sandoval’s continued improvement was an afterthought.

Sandoval gave up two runs in 6⅔ innings. Over his last five starts, dating to July 5, Sandoval has a 1.65 ERA, which has lowered his season ERA to 3.86.

“It’s a tough game, a tough pill to swallow,” Sandoval said. “Obviously, not happy with myself giving them the opportunity to tie it right after we take the lead. I just feel like I gotta make better pitches in those kinds of situations.”

As for the team, Sandoval said the Angels still believe that this streak doesn’t reflect the type of team they have.

“Just grinding, man,” he said. “Baseball’s a helluva game. It’s just not going our way right now. This team fights every single day. This is a close group. You can see the look on everyone’s faces. We’re not happy with the results but we know what we’re capable of.”

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Angels’ blown lead in nightmarish 9th inning extends losing streak to 7 games – Daily News

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