Angels’ offense is nothing to write home about in 4-1 loss to Blue Jays
This Angels loss was an East L.A. story.
Ricky Romero, the former Roosevelt High and Cal State Fullerton standout, became the latest local left-hander to flummox the Angels on Sunday at Angel Stadium, pitching seven strong innings during the Toronto Blue Jays’ 4-1 victory.
Romero held the Angels to six hits and one run two days after former Anaheim Servite High star Marc Rzepczynski pitched seven shutout innings for Toronto.
“I’m pretty sure those guys were throwing a little harder, the slider was biting a little harder,” Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said of the Blue Jays’ Southern California duo. “I’m pretty sure they had a little bit of motivation there.”
Romero (10-7) also had the incentive of pitching for the first time since signing a five-year, $30.1-million contract extension. He gave up his only run in the fifth inning on Mike Napoli’s team-leading 19th home run and worked his way out of two-on jams in the fourth and sixth innings.
“It’s been an unbelievable weekend, something that everyone dreams of,” Romero said. “I feel very, very blessed. It’s definitely very special getting a win here in Anaheim in front of my parents.”
The Romeros also witnessed an Angels offense that continues to bottom out.
The Angels went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and hit into double plays in the seventh and eighth innings, concluding a series in which they hit .111 (two for 18) with runners in scoring position while losing two of three games.
“We’ve obviously paid a price as this season has moved on with our inability to get that hit with guys in scoring position,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “There’s enough guys in there struggling to where it’s caught up to us at times.”
A two-on, one-out threat in the fourth dissolved when Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis each flied out. A two-on, two-out threat in the sixth fizzled when Izturis grounded out to third baseman Edwin Encarnacion on the first pitch.
“It’s frustrating, man,” Hunter said. “We haven’t been coming through, all of us, and we haven’t been getting a lot of timely hits. Sometimes we’ll hit the ball hard right at guys. That’s what baseball’s all about — luck — and we have none. We haven’t had any in a long time, a good four weeks.”
The Angels also haven’t had much success over that span, going 13-15 since the All-Star break and falling 8 1/2 games behind Texas in the American League West. Next up is a three-game series against Boston, which has won all seven games against the Angels this season.
Dan Haren, acquired last month to help the Angels make a playoff push, had nothing to show Sunday for another solid-but-unspectacular effort in which he gave up four runs in seven innings.
Toronto’s Adam Lind homered in the second inning and Aaron Hill drove in one run with a fourth-inning single and another with a sixth-inning fielder’s choice, the latter RBI part of a two-run rally that gave the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead.
It was more than enough cushion against a sputtering Angels offense.
“I don’t think the [opposing] pitching has anything to do with it,” Hunter said of the Angels’ woes. “I don’t know what it is. I have no idea. I could sit here and speculate and come up with all kinds of excuses, but we didn’t get it done this series.”
ben.bolch@latimes.com
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