Angels sputter in the clutch in 5-2 loss to Marlins

Crowds in Sun Life Stadium are so small, so laid-back and so dwarfed by 75,192 mostly empty seats that baseball games in the multipurpose facility can have an American Legion feel, the atmosphere so tranquil it can lull you to sleep.

Maybe that’s why the Angels’ bats were so sluggish at the key moments of Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Florida Marlins, who ended an 11-game losing streak and won for only the third time in 23 games.

Then again, the Angels have been just as feeble before packed houses in Fenway Park, Rangers Ballpark and their own stadium, so maybe it doesn’t matter who they’re playing or where they’re playing when it comes to their inability to hit in the clutch.

The Angels banged out 13 hits Tuesday night but had only one in 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Torii Hunter’s two-out single — his fourth hit of the game — that scored Erick Aybar from second in the ninth.

That spared the Angels the indignity of being shut out while posting 12 or more hits in a nine-inning game for the first time in franchise history.

Hunter took second on defensive indifference and scored when Bobby Abreu’s grounder went through the legs of Florida third baseman Greg Dobbs for an error.

Alberto Callaspo walked, but with a chance to tie the score with a three-run home run, Russell Branyan struck out against Marlins closer Leo Nunez, who recorded his 20th save.

Though the Angels beat the Marlins, 2-1, Monday, they are two for 26 with runners in scoring position in the series.

They rank 13th in the American League with a .229 average with runners in scoring position, and Tuesday night’s story line has become a recurring theme/nightmare for Manager Mike Scioscia.

“We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Scioscia said. “We need some guys to start squaring balls up with runners in scoring position and to get some early runs for our pitchers. That would have made a difference tonight, for sure.”

Ervin Santana looked strong, giving up two runs and five hits in five innings, striking out six and walking one.

But when the Angels put runners on second and third with two out in the sixth inning of a 2-0 game, Scioscia had little choice but to pull the right-hander for pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis, who popped to short.

Santana (3-8) lost his fourth consecutive start. The Angels have scored seven runs in the four games, three while Santana was on the mound.

Gaby Sanchez hit a solo homer off Santana in the first, and Omar Infante hit a sacrifice fly in the second. Mike Stanton’s RBI double off reliever Rich Thompson in the sixth made it 3-0, and the Marlins tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth.

“I thought Ervin had good stuff,” Scioscia said. “It’s a shame he couldn’t have gone longer.”

Trailing, 3-0, the Angels put two on to start the eighth, but Branyan struck out, Hank Conger flied to center and Peter Bourjos struck out.

Scioscia had the power-hitting Mark Trumbo and Vernon Wells on the bench but stuck with the .254-hitting Bourjos, who had seven hits in his previous 16 at-bats.

“We definitely considered it,” Scioscia said, when asked about Trumbo or Wells hitting for Bourjos. “There were a lot of factors, some moves we were going to look at, and Peter’s last 15 at-bats, he’s been swinging well.

“We wanted to give him a shot, and if he keeps that inning alive, we would have had one of those big guys up with a chance for a double that would have tied the game.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com