Angels hitters are left wondering after 3-2 loss to Orioles

Reporting from Baltimore -- Bobby Abreu slumped into a chair in the corner of the Angels’ clubhouse and reached into his locker for a sock.

What he was really looking for, however, were answers.

Answers to why he’s hitting .153 this month. Or why the Angels are averaging 3.2 runs a game and rank last in the American League in hitting since the All-Star break.

And answers, like an approaching baseball when Abreu is at the plate, are proving elusive.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Well, here’s a guess: The Angels just may be hitting themselves out of a pennant race.

As evidence, look no further than Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

The Angels took a quick first-inning lead on Vernon Wells’ two-run home run. Then they didn’t get a man to third base the rest of the game.

They had runners on base in seven innings and got a man to second base three times. But they also hit into two double plays and were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

And, fittingly, the game ended with Howie Kendrick, the Angels’ leading hitter, striking out with the tying run on second base.

“You’re going through a little cycle now where a lot of your guys are trying to find their game,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Which is to say Abreu isn’t the only one struggling, a bad sign when you’re 100 games into the season and in the middle of a pennant race.

Maicer Izturis is hitting .120 in July. Torii Hunter, after going 0 for 3 on Saturday, is hitting .207 this month and Jeff Mathis is hitting .179. Add in Abreu, who has struck out in nearly a third of his at-bats this month, and the Angels have four regulars hitting below .210 this month.

And after going three for 18 with runners in scoring position in their two games in Baltimore, they rank 25th in the majors in that category.

“We need to get better. We’ve talked about that all along,” Scioscia said. “As you get more guys in your lineup swinging the bat well — seeing that good at-bat, moving runners — that’s kind of the lifeblood of an offense when you’re struggling in the batter’s box.”

That didn’t happen Saturday, just as it hasn’t for most of the month. And with Joel Pineiro struggling on the mound, matching a season high by giving up 11 hits, the Angels had little room for error.

For Pineiro, who lasted only 51/3 innings, it was his second poor outing in a row, after a disastrous performance in Oakland in which he gave up eight runs and recorded only one out.

“It’s just a matter of getting that arm slot back and getting the ball down, really,” said Pineiro, who is 3-5 since early May.

Now the Angels find themselves under .500 since the All-Star break, just as their race with the streaking Texas Rangers, who won again Saturday, is beginning to heat up.

“A couple of opportunities missed,” said Wells, who admitted he has his eye on Texas.

But then Wells sighed and added: “If we don’t take care of our own business there’s nothing for us to look at.”

kevin.baxter@latimes.com