The Angels are streaking again, just not in the right direction

It wasn’t long ago that the Angels were the hottest team in baseball. No, really.

They had won 17 of 20 games. Four times in that span, Angels pitchers had thrown shutouts, and four times, the hitters had scored in double digits. They led the American League West by two games.

Does anyone remember that?

It was hard to by the third time an Angels outfielder ran to the wall and looked up, hopelessly, as another Dodgers home run left the field.

The last, a walk-off two-run shot from Andre Ethier in the 10th inning, gave the Dodgers a 5-3 win. At home plate, the Dodgers ripped off Ethier’s uniform. On the mound, right-hander Drew Rucinski put his uniform over his face, and he and the rest of the Angels walked quickly off the field.

Thirteen minutes later, the Angels would announce that Rucinski had been optioned back to triple-A Salt Lake.

The team formerly known as the hottest in baseball now owns the league’s longest losing streak, at six games. The Angels have lost nine of 10 games.

“I’m very, very confident that our club is going to be able to play at the level we need to,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. But, he added, “We haven’t the last 10 games, and that’s obvious.”

The Angels used a staff day to fill in for injured left-hander C.J. Wilson, who has said he will probably require season-ending surgery to clean out bone spurs from his pitching elbow. That meant right-hander Cory Rasmus, usually a reliever, got the start. He fooled the Dodgers for three innings, minus one at-bat against former teammate Howie Kendrick in the third inning.

With two outs, Kendrick blasted a two-run home run over the center-field wall. It was Rasmus’ only major mistake in 48 pitches.

“Other than that,” Scioscia said, “you couldn’t ask for much more.”

All five Dodgers runs came on home runs. After Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun hit an eighth-inning home run to tie the score at two, Joe Smith gave up his first home run since Aug. 10, 2014, also to Ethier.

“That’s what happens when you get behind, 3-0, to good hitters,” Smith said. “We’ve got to throw one for a strike. And he hit it really far.”

The Angels rallied in the top of the ninth, when left fielder David Murphy led off with a single and shortstop Erick Aybar, who reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second. Catcher Chris Iannetta drove him in with a two-out double to tie the game.

It would remain tied for just one more inning.

“It’s not a good feeling,” center fielder Mike Trout said. “It’s tough. It’s a big game, big series. But it’s over.”

During the 10-game nosedive, the lineup is batting .221. They have produced 3.6 runs per game. The bullpen’s earned-run average is 5.83.

And the first-place Houston Astros, who added big names in left-hander Scott Kazmir and outfielder Carlos Gomez, have zoomed to a four-game lead in the AL West.

Still, Scioscia said the team has improved even compared with the winning streak. He cited its addition of depth at the trade deadline. The changes, he said, just haven’t shown yet.

He indicated that the streaks, both good and bad, will even out.

“We didn’t lose today because of yesterday’s game,” Scioscia said. “We didn’t lose yesterday because of the day before.”

Twitter: @zhelfand