DETROIT — One of these days the Angels are bound to start hitting.
In the meantime, an already disappointing season continues to hit new lows as their anemic offense drags them deeper into the abyss.
The Angels lost, 3-2, to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night, falling for the seventh straight time. It’s their longest losing streak of the season.
For most of what is now a 3-15 nightmare, the Angels have been unable to come up with any sort of sustained offense. Their runs mostly come on the occasional homer.
It was Mickey Moniak who hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to pull the Angels within a run, but they could not score again.
The Angels had only six hits, and they were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
They began the third with two straight hits, but saw that opportunity go down the drain when Nolan Schanuel lined into a double play. Niko Kavadas, who was running at second, never even attempted to get back to second after Schanuel’s liner was caught by pitcher Kenta Maeda.
After that, their only offense was Moniak’s homer.
Griffin Canning took the loss, even though he gritted his way through five innings, allowing three runs.
Canning got an opportunity to start, after working behind an opener in his previous outing.
Although Canning pitched six scoreless innings when entering in the third, he wasn’t thrilled with having his start altered that way. Because he pitched well, Manager Ron Washington gave Canning another chance to start.
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“He’s on the line,” Washington said, suggesting that Canning would need to pitch well to prove that he didn’t need the opener.
Canning gave up three runs in five innings, but it could have been worse. He allowed five hits and he walked four. Canning struck out Riley Greene to leave the bases loaded in the fourth.
Two of the runs he allowed were on a first-pitch fastball right over the middle to Spencer Torkelson, who hit a two-run homer.
More to come on this story.
