Angels are left stranded

Juan Rivera and Howie Kendrick had the night off. For rest, you know. Meantime, the primary Angels quandary regarded whether the backup closer was better than the starting closer.

But the starting rotation: non-issue. The Angels starters entered Thursday’s game against Detroit with a 5-0 record and 1.43 earned-run average in their last six starts, a span in which they walked just three and struck out 33.

Then Joe Saunders, who had thrown an eight-inning gem in his last start, gave up two runs in the first inning, another run in the second and two more in the third.

“I was missing over the plate,” Saunders said of his 22/3 innings of work, in which he gave up five runs on six hits. “It seemed like every time they swung the bat, they hit it where we weren’t. I didn’t have the command of my last start.”

That wouldn’t have mattered had the Angels responded with some hits when runners were in scoring position. But that hasn’t been their style lately and it wasn’t Thursday, costing the Angels their second straight loss, a 5-4 defeat to Detroit in front of 37,338 at Angel Stadium, that came after a five-game winning streak.

“Our batter’s-box offense in situational hitting is going to be very important to us and when we settle in and have done some things, I think we’ve seen glimpses of what we can do,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

A glimpse would’ve been handy in the eighth inning, when the two guys who had been given the night off were called in.

Kendry Morales singled to center to start the inning, and after strikeouts by Maicer Izturis and Mike Napoli, Kendrick was called to pinch hit and singled to second. Rivera pinch hit next and was plunked to load the bases for Erick Aybar.

With the count at 2-2, Aybar watched a 96-mph fastball punch him out, ending the inning and the threat. For the night, the Angels were three of nine with runners in scoring position, but in the last five games they are nine for 47 (.191).

“We’re not firing on all cylinders right now, but it’s a deep lineup and it’s going to be there for us,” Scioscia said. “It’s a small sample right now of what’s going on. We’re kind of treading water a little bit.”

The previews had it tabbed as a duel between two of the American League’s winningest pitchers the last two seasons. Saunders had 33 wins in that span, second in the league, while Verlander had 30, good for fifth.

Saunders (1-3) seemed to hold the upper hand coming in, momentum wise, until the blowup that had him replaced by Matt Palmer.

Hideki Matsui, making just his second start in left field, hit a dead-center solo home run in the fifth inning to bring the Angels within one run. But he grounded out with Bobby Abreu on third to end the seventh inning, which seemed to foreshadow events in the eighth.

Abreu walked to start the ninth, but Torii Hunter grounded into a double play after him. Matsui grounded to first after that, giving Detroit’s Jose Valverde his fifth save in as many chances.

Up next are the New York Yankees, whom the Angels host for a three-game series starting Friday. The Bombers took two of three from the Angels in the Bronx last week.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com