Angels’ Huston Street unavailable after losing 13 pounds because of flu-like symptoms

Baseball announcers will often say that a reliever is “throwing up in the bullpen.” Had they said that about Angels closer Huston Street during Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros in Anaheim, it would have been true. Literally.

Street began suffering flu-like symptoms on Saturday and was vomiting in the bullpen during the sixth and seventh innings on Sunday. What happened in the ninth made him even more ill -- he failed to hold a three-run lead and gave up five runs in a devastating 5-3 loss to the Astros.

“When I started throwing up, they asked me straight up, ‘Can you go? Do you feel like you can go?’ My answer was yes, absolutely,” Street said. “And I felt fine out there Sunday. You’ve got a lot of adrenaline, it’s a big game, it’s a big moment. I’m not blaming it on that by any means whatsoever.”

Street’s spot came up again Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners in Safeco Field, but he could not go. He was still regaining his energy from a three-day illness that caused him to lose 13 pounds and required him to take two bags of intravenous fluids on Monday.

With a one-run lead, Trevor Gott threw a scoreless eighth inning and setup man Joe Smith struck out three of four batters in a scoreless ninth, as the Angels held on for a 4-3 victory. Street said he expects to be available Wednesday night.

“They just wanted to give me one extra day to make sure I’m recovered,” Street said. “For the most part. I’ve got my appetite back. I’ve been able to eat. I didn’t eat Sunday and I didn’t eat Monday.

“I haven’t been able to keep any food down, but I didn’t want to make a big deal about it because people would want to use that as an excuse, and I didn’t want to use it as an excuse. ... A lot of guys are sick, they get the job done, and they never talk about it.”

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