Angels lose third straight to Astros, 5-4
The Angels got off to a horribly slow start this season. They comforted themselves by saying they did the same thing last year, then had a pretty good season after all.
This is worse, and not just because the Angels have lost three consecutive games to the Houston Astros.
The Angels got to the .500 mark for good last season on May 28. Here we are in the first week of June this year, and the Angels are seven games under .500.
The weekend was most disturbing for this reason: the Angels, a team built on offense, could not handle the worst pitching staff in the major leagues.
On Sunday, the Angels lost, 5-4. In the first three games of the series -- the Astros go for the sweep Monday -- the Angels have scored five runs.
The Astros are the only team in the majors with an earned-run average above 5.00.
The Angels fell to 3-6 against the Astros and 9-18 against the American League West.
Angels starter C.J. Wilson delivered a quality start, holding the Astros to three runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. He also struck out nine.
Unfortunately for Wilson and the Angels, four of those hits went for extra bases. Carlos Corporan hit a solo home run in the first inning, Carlos Pena did the same in the fifth, and Brandon Barnes doubled and scored in the sixth.
Mark Trumbo hit his team-high 13th home run for one of the Angels’ runs, and Hank Conger hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning. The other run –- Albert Pujols singled home J.B. Shuck –- was made possible only because Mike Trout reached first base on a third-strike wild pitch.
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