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Angels can’t find a big hit late in 10-inning…

Wednesday, September 18th 2024

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Los Angeles Angels |
Angels can’t find a big hit late in 10-inning loss to Nationals

The Angels go 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and the top three hitters in their order – Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe – combine to go 0 for 15 overall

The Angels’ Anthony Rendon sheds his batting gear at home plate after striking out with two men on base for the third out during the 10th inning of their game against the Washington Nationals on Friday night in Washington. The Angels lost, 3-2, in 10 innings and went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
The Angels’ Anthony Rendon sheds his batting gear at home plate after striking out with two men on base for the third out during the 10th inning of their game against the Washington Nationals on Friday night in Washington. The Angels lost, 3-2, in 10 innings and went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
Associate mug of Jeff Fletcher, Angels reporter, sports. Date shot: 09/26/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
By | jlfletcher@scng.com | Orange County Register
UPDATED:
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Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Washington Nationals on Friday night in Washington. Soriano allowed one run on four hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking just one, but the Angels lost, 3-2, in 10 innings. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

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WASHINGTON — The young core of the Angels’ offense had an off night all at once.

Although Jo Adell hit a second-inning two-run homer, he and the other young hitters who have been carrying the Angels lately all came up empty in numerous opportunities late in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

José Soriano left with a one-run lead after six innings, but José Quijada gave up the tying run in the eighth and Matt Moore was charged with the winning run in the 10th. The Nationals bunted their automatic runner to third against Moore, and then Ben Joyce gave up the game-winning hit on a line drive that second baseman Luis Guillorme couldn’t handle.

It shouldn’t have gotten to that, though.

When asked to evaluate the Angels’ at-bats with runners in scoring position – they were 1 for 13 – Manager Ron Washington was succinct.

“They weren’t very good,” he said. “We did have quite a few opportunities and all we had to do was put the ball in play, but we didn’t put it in play tonight. That was the game.”

Nolan Schanuel, Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe – now holding the top three spots in the order – combined to go hitless in 15 at-bats. Neto and Schanuel are both coming off big games in New York, but O’Hoppe is now in a 2-for-32 slump that roughly corresponds with him moving into the No. 3 spot.

“It looks like to me instead of him just trying to get base hits, he’s trying to do damage,” Washington said. “And that was the one thing I was trying to keep him away from by putting him in that third hole. Just get your hits. The damage is going to come when they make a mistake. It’s a learning time for him. He’s finding out that’s not an easy spot to be in. I do think he can handle it. He’s just got to grow with it.”

O’Hoppe was in the batting cage doing extra work with the Angels’ hitting coaches for at least 30 minutes after the game.

He came up empty with a runner in scoring position in the seventh and 10th. In the seventh, the first two hitters of the inning got hits, bringing up the top of the order. Schanuel popped out, trying to bunt, and then Neto grounded out and O’Hoppe struck out.

In the eighth, Adell was at the plate with runners at second and third and one out, needing just a fly ball to give the Angels a two-run lead. He struck out.

Adell had two runners on in each of his next three trips, and he went hitless.

The Angels also had three cracks at getting their automatic runner home in the 10th, and they couldn’t do it.

The Angels could probably just shrug it off as a bad night after they scored 17 runs while winning their previous two games against the Yankees in New York.

It wasted solid pitching from Soriano, who gave up one run. He struck out seven, and retired the last nine hitters he faced.

Although Soriano gave up a run and had to deal with some traffic, that was more because of sloppy infield defense by his teammates and the speed of the Nationals.

Three of the singles that Soriano allowed were on ground balls hit too slowly for the Angels’ infielders to throw out the runners at first.

Soriano also induced a ground ball that should have been a routing inning-ending double play in the first, but second baseman Michael Stefanic booted it. That led to the Nationals’ only run against him. It was an earned run because the official scorer can’t assume a double play.

By the time Soriano’s night was over, he had gotten eight of his outs on ground balls.

Quijada gave up the tying run on a sacrifice fly after he’d allowed two singles in the eighth. In the 10th, Washington summoned Joyce, his hard-throwing closer when the Nationals got the winning run to third. Joyce got Alex Call to hit a line drive that could have been an out, but it nicked off the glove of Guillorme.

Washington said Guillorme should have made the play, no matter what kind of spin the ball had off the bat.

“We’re in the big leagues,” Washington said. “That ball hit his glove. He’s in a position where if the ball comes off the bat, you play with that. You’re not in the minor leagues.”

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