Angels Flub a 7-6 Loss

A winnable game and a chance for their first series sweep of the season slipped through the Angels’ fingers Sunday, fumbled amid a flurry of bloop hits, bullpen blips, missed opportunities and managerial moves gone awry.

The Baltimore Orioles erased a two-run deficit with a four-run seventh inning, in which one hit was struck with any authority. Then with the bases loaded in the ninth, cleanup batter Garret Anderson hit a one-hop rocket to second, which the Orioles turned into a game-ending double play to hold on for a 7-6 victory in Angel Stadium.

“G.A. hit a bullet and had nothing to show for it,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He squared that ball up. If it was five feet to either side, we would have won.”

Instead, the Angels’ four-game winning streak came to an end, and Kelvim Escobar lost his third straight start despite leaving with the lead.

“I’ve never seen so many bloopers in my life,” said Escobar, who fell to 5-5. “But that’s part of the game. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

The Angels, on the strength of Tim Salmon’s run-scoring double in the second and sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Orlando Cabrera’s run-scoring fielder’s choice and Vladimir Guerrero’s sacrifice fly in the fifth, held a 4-2 lead entering the seventh.

But Corey Patterson led off with a bunt single that Escobar had trouble fielding, and Kevin Millar hit a check-swing flare to right, advancing Patterson to third. Nick Markakis lined out to third -- the hardest-hit ball of the inning -- but Brian Roberts singled to right-center, scoring Patterson.

Scioscia replaced Escobar with setup man Scot Shields, and Melvin Mora dunked a double to shallow right, scoring Millar for a 4-4 tie and putting runners on second and third for No. 3 hitter Miguel Tejada, who entered with a .327 average, 13 home runs and 36 runs batted in.

Instead of intentionally walking Tejada to get to .257-hitting Javy Lopez, Scioscia chose to bring the infield in and challenge Tejada, who hit a first-pitch shot just over second baseman Adam Kennedy’s head for two runs and a 6-4 lead.

Lopez followed with a broken-bat single to center before Ramon Hernandez grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“I thought Shields needed an open base instead of having the bases loaded and being forced to come in to Lopez,” Scioscia said of the Shields-Tejada matchup. “Unfortunately, he was able to fist the ball over the infield. Shields made a good pitch.”

That wasn’t Scioscia’s only scrutinized move.

With Salmon on third, Jose Molina up and one out in the second, Scioscia called for a suicide squeeze. Molina couldn’t get his bat on a Kris Benson pitch in the dirt, and Salmon was tagged out in a rundown. Molina followed with a fly ball to the warning track in center, which would have easily scored Salmon. Instead, the game remained tied, 1-1.

“Jose is a terrific bunter,” Scioscia said. “The pitch was so bad it was almost a wild pitch. But I think the situation was right. We had the right guy up for it.”

That run loomed large. Patterson doubled with one out against Shields, stole third and scored on Markakis’ fielder’s choice to give Baltimore a 7-4 lead in the eighth, but the Angels rallied.

Guerrero, Anderson and Kendry Morales opened the eighth with singles against reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Morales’ hit scored Guerrero to make it 7-5.

Orioles bench coach Lee Elia, filling in for ejected Manager Sam Perlozzo, summoned closer Chris Ray, who slammed the door by getting Salmon to pop to shortstop and Dallas McPherson to hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

But pinch-hitter Erick Aybar tripled off the right-field wall to open the ninth and scored on Kennedy’s groundout, pulling the Angels to within 7-6. Chone Figgins walked, Cabrera hit a bloop single to right, and Ray pitched around Guerrero, walking him to load the bases.

Up came Anderson, and, one first-pitch fastball later, down went the Angels.

“G.A. couldn’t have hit that ball any better,” Escobar said. “He just hit it to the wrong spot.”