Angels’ Days May Be Numbered

In a season where so much has gone so wrong for the Angels, the latest loss was easy as 1-2-3.

That was the scoring on the double play, the one that terminated their best opportunity to avoid a shutout Wednesday. They lost their fourth consecutive game and suffered their third shutout in nine games, this one 2-0 to the Seattle Mariners on a five-hitter by Freddy Garcia and Arthur Rhodes.

The Angels, so optimistic about winning this four-game series and challenging Seattle in the American League West, might well get swept today. The Mariners start Jamie Moyer, against whom the Angels have failed to score in 14 innings this season.

The defending World Series champions, now 13 1/2 games behind Seattle, have slipped below .500 for the first time since May 31 and fallen into fifth place in the AL wild-card race.

The Angels had one good chance to score, and Manager Mike Scioscia had one interesting decision. They advanced a runner past second base only once, in the seventh inning, when they loaded the bases on two singles, a sacrifice bunt and a walk.

With one out, Scioscia sent Bengie Molina to bat for Jose Molina. Scioscia left Troy Glaus, given the night off because of an 0-for-24 slump, and Shawn Wooten, hitting .429 as a pinch-hitter, on the bench.

Bengie Molina was hitting .380 with men in scoring position, ranking 10th in the league. He also had hit into 10 double plays, ranking fifth in the league.

“You have to weigh the downside of a double play with the upside of putting up the best guy we feel we have at putting the ball in play,” Scioscia said. “He probably hits the ball hard better than anybody we have, him and Garret [Anderson].”

The Mariners set up the double play when they walked Adam Kennedy on four pitches, with first base open and Molina in the on-deck circle. Molina grounded back to Garcia, who started the 1-2-3 double play.

“We knew what was going on there, and we weren’t too concerned if he did walk Kennedy right there and the double play was still in order [with] a much slower guy at the plate,” Seattle Manager Bob Melvin said. “I was basically just giving them a run there with the infield back. It worked out well.”

The Mariners thus preserved a 1-0 lead. They added an insurance run in the eighth inning off Brendan Donnelly, only the second earned run given up by Donnelly in 35 2/3 innings this season.

Angel starter Aaron Sele dodged trouble all night. In his five innings, Sele walked four and hit one. Of his 100 pitches, 47 were balls. Still, he gave up one run and lowered his earned-run average from 7.22 to 6.52.

“We lost. I was erratic,” Sele said. “I kept it close for a while. That’s probably the most positive thing I did.”

He needed 35 pitches to escape the first inning, in which he walked two and the Mariners left the bases loaded. In the third and fifth innings, Seattle stranded runners in scoring position. In the sixth, he walked two more. The Angels replaced him with Ben Weber, who gave up a run-scoring double to Mike Cameron.

Although the Angel lineup includes several slumping hitters, David Eckstein puts the blame for the offensive shortcomings upon himself.

The leadoff hitter failed to reach base again Wednesday. His .240 batting average is the lowest among the regulars, and his .325 on-base average is the lowest of any regular except Molina.

“I feel very responsible,” Eckstein said.

He scored at least two runs in 26 games last season, and the Angels won 24. With this season approaching the halfway point, he has scored at least two runs eight times.

“The guys behind me have done a great job,” Eckstein said. “If I was on base, we’d be doing a lot better. If I start doing my job a little better, then we can be more consistent.”