Passed balls cost Angels in 4-3 loss to Rays
Having exhausted most of his options in an effort to spark the sagging Angels, Manager Mike Scioscia tried the Budde system Wednesday, pairing ace Jered Weaver with seldom-used reserve catcher Ryan Budde.
That brought out the best in Weaver, who racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowed one earned run and six hits in seven innings. As for the right-hander’s battery mate … well, Budde can only hope that Weaver doesn’t defriend him.
Budde allowed two passed balls that helped the Tampa Bay Rays score two of their three unearned runs in a 4-3 victory at Angel Stadium, dropping the Angels to 15-21, their worst 36-game start since they went 14-22 in 1990.
Third baseman Kevin Frandsen’s throwing error on Jason Bartlett’s game-opening grounder also led to an unearned run and helped the Rays, who took two of three games from the Angels, win their first series in Anaheim since May 14-16, 1999.
“We cracked the door open for them a little bit, and you can’t do that against anyone,” Scioscia said. “Weav did what he could, but we couldn’t support him. Some things got away from us.”
An embarrassing moment in the first inning set the tone for Budde, who started trotting toward the dugout after Weaver struck out B.J. Upton with runners on second and third. One problem: It was the second out.
“I got caught up in the moment,” Budde said. “I thought there were two outs. Weav punched him out with a good fastball, and I let my emotions get the best of me.”
Budde realized his mistake quickly enough to prevent Carl Crawford from scoring, but Budde and Weaver got crossed up on an 0-1 pitch to Pat Burrell that got past the catcher, allowing Crawford to score for a 2-0 lead.
“I thought I called a slider, and he threw a fastball,” Budde said. “Put the blame on me. Mental mistakes are unacceptable around here. I take full responsibility, and I apologized to Weaver.”
Torii Hunter’s run-scoring single in the third made it 2-1, but after Bartlett walked in the fifth and took third on a single by Crawford, Budde couldn’t block a changeup. Bartlett scored on the passed ball for a 3-1 lead.
“It got through the five-hole — it’s going to happen,” Scioscia said. “It doesn’t happen very often. Ryan is a really sound defensive catcher. … I guarantee you if you throw 100 of those, he’s going to block 100 of them. One got by him today.”
With shadows enveloping the field because of the 4 p.m. start, it was a little tougher to pick up the ball, especially in the middle innings.
“But no excuses,” said Budde, who made his third start of the season. “It was a changeup down. I should have blocked it.”
Evan Longoria’s double and Upton’s run-scoring single gave the Rays a 4-1 lead in the sixth. The Angels scored in the sixth (on Howie Kendrick’s run-scoring double) and seventh (on Bobby Abreu’s sacrifice fly) innings to make it 4-3.
But five Rays relievers shut out the Angels over the final 2 2/3 innings to preserve the win for left-hander David Price, who allowed two earned runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings and improved to 5-1.
As if Budde’s ego didn’t take enough of a beating, he also took a foul tip off the back of his right hand in the eighth, suffering a bruise that required ice after the game.
Weaver survived a 34-pitch first inning and completed seven innings. Of his 120 pitches, 80 were strikes, but Weaver fell to 4-2.
“Oh, well,” Weaver said of his 12 strikeouts. “It would have looked a lot better if we had won. It’s nothing to really talk about.”
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