No starring role for Lackey

The last thing the Angels could afford as they resumed the major league portion of their schedule was a flameout from their All-Star starter.

But John Lackey extended his team’s woes Friday night at the Metrodome when he failed to hold a pair of early leads during a 7-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the first team with a winning record to grace the Angels’ schedule since June 17.

“The guys did everything to win tonight; we lost this game because of me,” said Lackey, who gave up a season-high 10 hits and seven runs -- five earned -- in five innings. “They scored runs, they scored them early, they gave me an opportunity, and I’ve got to win that game.”

Failure is becoming an alarmingly familiar trend for the Angels, who have lost 12 of 19 games.

Their lead over Seattle in the American League West was sliced to one game, the slimmest advantage the Angels have held in the division since they were one game up on May 15.

“We worry about the Angels, and that’s it,” third baseman Chone Figgins said.

There is plenty of reason for concern. The Angels haven’t homered in 13 games, a streak that has spanned 123 innings and is five games short of tying the franchise record set in 1976, and their rotation has gone from fraying at the edges to nearly being in tatters.

Even the long-dependable Lackey (12-6) has fallen into a mini-slump, going 2-2 with a 4.85 earned-run average over his last six starts. The Twins tagged the right-hander for three runs in the first inning and four more in the third, erasing deficits of 2-0 and 4-3.

“Guys did everything they needed to do for me tonight, and I let them down,” a visibly agitated Lackey said. “They got two runs early before I even stepped out there.”

The Twins also chipped in for the Angels’ cause, committing three errors.

“They cracked the door open a little bit for us throwing the ball around,” said Angels Manager Mike Scioscia, whose reformulated lineup that dropped leadoff hitter Reggie Willits to the bottom of the order produced 10 hits.

Garret Anderson drove in two runs, Vladimir Guerrero had two hits and Mike Napoli, back in the lineup for the first time since July 1, had a career-high three hits.

And it still wasn’t enough to compensate for Lackey’s ineffectiveness. Jason Kubel keyed Minnesota’s three-run first inning with a two-run triple, and Justin Morneau got things rolling two innings later with his 26th homer, a two-run shot to right-center.

“I allowed them to be way too comfortable tonight,” Lackey said. “They were leaning out over the plate hitting everything soft I had. I wasn’t aggressive enough.”

Asked if he could take any solace in the fact that he has pitched well for most of the season, Lackey said he did not expect to sleep soundly upon his return to the team hotel.

“I’m supposed to be the head of this staff,” he said. “I’m supposed to win that game. You can’t just take the good. You have to take it both ways.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com