ANAHEIM —After Patrick Sandoval had allowed four runs with a clear lack of command in the first three innings, Ron Washington sent him back to the mound in the fourth, hoping to see something better.
Asked what he saw that gave him reason to think that would happen, Washington said: “I think it was my heart, because I’ve seen him have that type of start and settle in. I was hoping he’d settle in and give us some innings. It just didn’t work out. I left him out there too long.”
Four runs quickly became eight runs, and that was too much for the Angels to overcome in a 10-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night.
Sandoval, who recorded two outs in the fourth before Washington had to pull to him, gave up three homers, including two to José Ramirez, and he issued four walks. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
“Too much of the strike zone,” Washington said. “Just couldn’t get the ball where he wanted to get it. And I just thought that at some point, especially after the third inning. he would straighten it out. It just didn’t happen.”
Over his previous five outings, Sandoval had a 3.03 ERA and he had walked just six in 29⅔ innings. In two of the games he didn’t walk anyone.
When Friday’s game began, it looked like the improved version of Sandoval was on the mound again. He pitched a perfect first inning, getting a first-pitch strike on all three hitters.
Sandoval began the second with a five-pitch strikeout of cleanup hitter Josh Naylor.
At that point, his control abandoned him.
Sandoval walked the next two hitters, then he gave up an RBI single. After another strikeout, he threw a wild pitch.
Sandoval escaped that inning with the Angels down 2-1, but in the third he showed no signs of improvement. He hit the first batter he faced and then gave up a two-run homer to Ramirez.
Left-hander José Suarez began warming up during the third. And in the bottom of the inning, the Angels scored a run to get within 4-2.
“I felt really good,” Sandoval said. “It was just kind of inconsistent through the zone. I felt the same. It’s like any second I’m just gonna settle in. I still felt good at times and then it would just completely be gone.”
Although left-hander José Suarez was warming during the third, Sandoval got another chance in the fourth, and it didn’t work. He gave up a leadoff double. After two outs, he gave up three straight hits, including two homers.
“Just a bad night,” Washington said.
Sandoval continued his trend of throwing very few fastballs, relying on his slider and changeup. He gave up two of the homers on sliders. He also threw 12 sweepers, adding in a pitch he had only thrown 15 times all season.
After Sandoval was done, Suarez was able to soak up the next 10 outs, allowing just two more runs, which preserved most of the Angels’ bullpen for the rest of the weekend.
Roansy Contreras worked the final two innings, making his Angels debut a week after he was acquired.
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While it was a bad night for Sandoval, it was a pretty good night at the plate for Luis Rengifo.
Rengifo blasted a homer in the first inning, his fourth of the season. He then singled in the third and doubled in the fifth, although he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.
Rengifo is hitting .322 with an .878 OPS this season. All of his plate appearances on Friday were against left-handers, lifting his average to .483 in 29 at-bats against lefties this season.
Jo Adell also blasted a homer, giving him 10 homers in a season for the first time in his career. Logan O’Hoppe also hit his fifth homer of the season.
