Angels Lose, 10-1, as Slide Continues

You still need a calculator to figure out how many games the Angels must win and their competitors in the American League West and wild-card standings must lose before the defending World Series champions are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

Yet, at the rate the Angels have been dropping games since the All-Star break, it won’t be long before a second-grader can do the math in his head.

In fact, finishing at .500 might be a heady achievement for an Angel team that is winning at a .182 clip since the All-Star break after a 10-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Sunday in front of an early-departing crowd of 40,342 at Edison Field.

The Angels’ latest defeat prompted Manager Mike Scioscia to deliver what he termed a pep talk to a group of players beset by distractions as the trading deadline approaches and the team continues to falter.

“It’s obvious we need to turn it around,” said second baseman Adam Kennedy, whose ninth-inning homer prevented a shutout. “He knows we’re out there giving 100%. It’s not like we’re dogging it.”

The Angels (51-52) have lost three consecutive games and nine of 11 since the break to slip under .500 for the first time since June 27, and a return to Edison Field has done nothing to stem the slide. Oakland has outscored the Angels, 21-4, over the first three games of this four-game series, rendering the Angels’ pre-break push all but meaningless.

“Just 10 days ago we were on top of the world playing great baseball,” right fielder Tim Salmon said.

Now the Angels reside 11 1/2 games behind Seattle in the AL West and are in fifth place in the wild-card standings, 10 1/2 games behind Boston. A team hampered by an injury to third baseman Troy Glaus and an inability to score runs turned Sunday to its triple-A Salt Lake City affiliate, announcing that it would today recall first baseman-outfielder Robb Quinlan.

Quinlan was hitting .310 for the Stingers but probably would not have made a difference Sunday against Oakland starter Tim Hudson, who threw a complete-game four-hitter. Hudson (9-4) gave up three singles and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base until Kennedy’s homer ended the right-hander’s career-high scoreless streak at 20 innings.

The Athletics supported Hudson with six runs -- two on solo homers by Scott Hatteberg -- midway through the third inning.

“That’s not what you’re looking for,” said Kennedy, the only Angel to display any consistency with two hits in each of his last two games. “[Hudson] smells that win six, seven innings away ... he’s not going to let you stage any rallies or get close.”

Oakland’s defense also prevented the scoreboard operator from unleashing the rally monkey. Shortstop Miguel Tejada twice ranged to his left to reach balls apparently headed up the middle and right fielder Terrence Long made a leaping grab near the wall to take an extra-base hit away from Garret Anderson.

Not even streak-stopper Ramon Ortiz, who was 7-3 when pitching after an Angel loss before Sunday, could make a difference. The right-hander gave up six hits and six runs over 2 1/3 innings during his shortest outing of the season.

“A bad game today,” said Ortiz, whose record dropped to 12-8. “They hit every pitch -- changeup, slider, everything.”

As embarrassing as this latest rout was for the Angels, it could have been worse. The Athletics struck out twice to end innings with the bases loaded and removed Hatteberg, who has six hits over his last two games, in the seventh.

The possibilities seemed endless for the Angels less than two weeks ago. Now the most realistic scenarios include endings devoid of another red October.

“We have to start playing better because the guys ahead of us aren’t slowing down,” Kennedy said. “It would be nice to turn it around tomorrow.”

Said Salmon: “All it takes is maybe one break and you start a streak.”