SEATTLE — With a patchwork lineup and a bullpen running on fumes, it took a solid effort from the Angels to even be competitive on Friday night.
Despite so much being stacked against them, the Angels had a shot to win before dropping a 2-1 decision to the Seattle Mariners.
The Angels had only four players from their Opening Day roster in the starting lineup. The bullpen was spent after back-to-back four-inning outings from their starters.
That left right-hander Connor Brogdon – fresh off the plane from Salt Lake – on the mound when the Mariners scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
Brogdon gave up a homer to Mitch Garver just after the Angels had tied the score in the top of the inning.
The Angels (69-79) didn’t mount much of an offense all night, which was to be expected.
First baseman Nolan Schanuel and catcher Logan O’Hoppe were on the injured list before the Angels got to Seattle. Shortstop Zach Neto and outfielder Jo Adell were both unavailable to start on Friday night. Neto has a sore wrist and Adell is getting over a bout with vertigo. Adell struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
The only players from the Opening Day lineup who started on Friday were Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo. Yoán Moncada, who came off the bench on Opening Day, was also in the lineup.
The lineup didn’t even produce any hard contact against Seattle starter Luis Castillo for most of the night. Bryce Teodosio and Chris Taylor had the only two hits in the first six innings.
In the sixth inning, Taylor singled and took second on an error and then Moncada walked. Both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, giving the Angels their best shot at a rally. Ward hit a hard line drive that was snagged by right fielder Victor Robles, ending the inning.
The Angels finally got on the board after Castillo was out of the game. Rengifo led off the seventh with a single, and he went to second on a wild pitch. Logan Davidson doubled down the right field line to knock him in with the game-tying run.
Adell then struck out. After Teodosio was hit by a pitch, Trout came to the plate with a chance to put the Angels on top, and he struck out.
Montgomery said the quality of the Mariners pitching meant that the Angels needed to take advantage of the opportunities they had.
“Any chance you have to put runs on the board, you got to really get after it with them,” Montgomery said. “We had some good swings. We just didn’t get get the big hit.”
Despite the modest offense, the Angels had a chance because starter Yusei Kikuchi delivered.
Kikuchi gave up just one run in six innings. He allowed four hits and walked one. After allowing a run in the fourth, he retired seven of the last eight batters he faced.
“It was good,” Montgomery said. “He was what we’ve kind of gotten used to seeing throughout the early part of the year and in the middle of the year. He was good. He was in control most of the way. I thought he did a really nice job.”
It was a significant improvement for Kikuchi, who had a 13.89 ERA in his previous three games and an 8.78 ERA in his previous six.
“I think in my previous starts, my fastball, my slider, was being used a little too much,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “It was becoming a little bit predictable. So I think I was able to use my all my pitches, especially the curveball and changeup effectively today.”