Angels Sinking Out of Sight

Every day seems to bring a new low for the Angels. Or a new Lowe. Or a new Loe.

Shut down by Dodgers right-hander Derek Lowe on Sunday, the Angels barely put a dent in Texas right-hander Kameron Loe on Monday night, and the result was a season-high sixth loss in a row.

The Rangers nicked Angels starter Kelvim Escobar for one run in the sixth inning and two in the seventh for a 3-2 come-from-behind victory at Ameriquest Field, sending the Angels to their 18th loss in 23 games.

The Angels are in last place in the American League West, 6 1/2 games back, and at 17-28 they’re off to their worst start since 1988. With a $104-million payroll and pennant aspirations, they are one of baseball’s biggest disappointments.

They’ve been looking to add a bat to bolster their sagging offense, but at this rate, the Angels may become sellers before the July 31 trading deadline, possibly dealing veterans in the final years of contracts, such as Escobar, Jeff Weaver, Adam Kennedy, Darin Erstad and J.C. Romero, or others deemed expendable.

“This is a long slump, man, it’s gone on too long,” Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. “It’s like we’re waiting for something to happen. We’ve got to bounce back.”

The Angels can find some refuge in their mediocre division, some solace in the standings. If they were in the AL Central, they’d be 13 1/2 games back.

“That’s the one thing we have in our favor -- we’re still within reach,” Kennedy said. “But there’s a sense of urgency to play better.”

The Angels pitched better Monday -- Escobar gave up three runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, giving up a run-scoring double to Hank Blalock in the sixth, a Brad Wilkerson home run to open the seventh and a double to Mark DeRosa, who scored the winning run on Michael Young’s two-out RBI single off reliever Scot Shields.

They did not play better. After scoring two early runs off Loe on Garret Anderson’s RBI single in the first and Vladimir Guerrero’s RBI double in the third, they managed four hits the rest of the night.

Robb Quinlan, swinging at the first pitch, grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the sixth and struck out with two on to end the eighth. After Kennedy opened the ninth with a walk, leadoff batter Chone Figgins failed to get a sacrifice bunt down, fouling off closer Akinori Otsuka’s first pitch, taking the second for a strike, and then grounding into a fielder’s choice.

“Situational hitting has always been important for us; it’s essential now,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “In the batter’s box, whether it’s our approach, or getting the bunts down, we’ve been soft. We put a lot of emphasis on it and have done a good job of it over the years. We’re not executing it now, and it’s been disappointing.”

The Angels claim their confidence remains high, that they’re not demoralized, but they’ve lost some of their swagger. Because they’ve been unable “to get the nail-in-the-coffin runs with the lead,” as Kennedy said, they’re putting too much pressure on the pitchers.

Monday night, two of their best wilted under that pressure. Escobar couldn’t hold the lead, and it appeared Shields might escape a seventh-inning jam when he struck out Gary Matthews with a runner on third and one out. But Shields caught too much of the plate with an 0-and-2 inside fastball to Young, who grounded it to left for the game-winning hit.

“We did not lose this game on the mound,” Scioscia said.

There was one bright spot for the Angels. Guerrero’s RBI double extended the right fielder’s hitting streak against Texas to 40 games, the longest by a player against one opponent in at least 50 years.

Guerrero has hit safely in all 40 games against Texas, batting .446 (70 for 157) -- the highest career average against one opponent with a minimum of 150 at-bats since 1960 -- with 13 home runs and 31 RBIs.