Angels End Dismal Trip With 11-2 Loss

Angel reliever Greg Cadaret registered another save Monday night. Not the kind where you strike out a batter or two in the ninth inning, pump your fist into the air and exchange high-fives with your teammates after preserving a narrow victory.

All Cadaret did was save the Angel bullpen from unnecessary wear and tear in an 11-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers, one of those dirty-job-but-someone-has-to-do-it chores that Cadaret is becoming all too experienced at.

Cadaret threw four innings and 72 pitches in a 12-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on May 3. He contributed 1 2/3 innings and 28 pitches to finish a 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays Friday night.

The veteran brought his mop and bucket to the Tiger Stadium mound again Monday night, throwing 49 pitches and 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief after starter Allen Watson (three innings, 10 hits, seven runs) and reliever Rich DeLucia (1 2/3 innings, four hits, four runs) were bombed.

“It’s getting real old,” Angel Manager Terry Collins said. “I’m tired of patting guys on the back for going out and sucking up innings so we don’t blow out our bullpen. Greg has done a great job, but he’s not here for that. None of the guys in the bullpen are.”

Watching his team get shellacked by a supposedly inferior team like the Tigers is getting old for Collins too. The Angels finished 2-5 on a trip through Chicago, Toronto and Detroit, all teams with sub-.500 records. Today, the Angels begin an eight-game homestand with a .500 mark.

Detroit amassed 19 hits, including four by leadoff batter Brian Hunter and three each by Joe Randa and Deivi Cruz, and cleanup batter Tony Clark had four runs batted in.

The Tigers batted around in both the fourth and fifth innings to turn their 4-2 lead into a rout. Cruz and Easley each homered, and right-hander Brian Moehler cruised to victory with a seven-inning, two-run, seven-hit performance in front of a crowd of 10,236.

Hunter also threw Garret Anderson and Dave Hollins out at the plate in the second inning after both tried to score from second on singles to center.

“This might have been one of the ugliest games we’ve played all year,” Collins said. “We didn’t pitch, plain and simple. We’ve got to regroup, reach down inside and take a look at what we want to do. We have to decide if we want to get after it [today] or continue to feel sorry for ourselves.”

Angel starters were 2-3 with an 8.29 earned-run average on the trip, and the bullpen was 0-2 with one blown save, but Collins wouldn’t point a finger exclusively at the mound.

“We’ve got to pitch better, hit better, play better, coach better and manage better,” Collins said. “Right now, we’re not very good. There’s no quick fix. I will never, ever say that it’s just one area. If you give up 11, you have to score 12. If you score eight, you’ve got to hold them to seven.”

Effort has rarely been an issue since Collins took over in 1997, molding a gritty team around his intense, never-say-die attitude. But Collins seemed to challenge his players when he said they “have to absolutely reach down inside and figure out how hard they’re willing to work to change things.”

Anderson said players can’t hang their heads.

“That just makes it worse,” he said. “You have to keep reminding yourself to work hard and do the little things to stay in the game. You have to fight your way out of it. If you hang your head, you’ll get embarrassed. But I can’t imagine anyone coming out without strong emotions [tonight].”