Angels’ skid reaches 4 games as offense remains stagnant at home

ANAHEIM — Plane rides and room service continue to be more agreeable to the Angels than in-town commutes and home cooking.

After putting on a power display at New York last week, the Angels have struggled to provide the same excitement for gatherings that would appreciate it most.

Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays extended the Angels’ losing streak to a season-long four games, all at home. During a stumble, they have scored just six combined runs in the 36 innings.

By comparison, the Angels averaged eight runs per game during their recent four-game series in the Bronx.

Angels right hander Jack Kochanowicz continues to show growth, allowing one run on five hits over 5⅔ innings. He now has a 3.10 ERA over his five starts but has three no-decisions to show for his efforts.

“I felt good. I felt like I kept us in the game pretty well,” Kochanowicz said. “I wouldn’t say the stuff felt the best today but just some deep breaths at the right time got me through some innings.”

Last week, Kochanowicz rebounded from a tough opening two innings at New York, when he gave up three runs, then pitched into the seventh only to get a no-decision in a game the Angels lost, 5-4.

Even that kind of run support would have served the Angels’ well on Tuesday when they scored one run in five innings against Blue Jays left-hander Patrick Corbin. The Toronto bullpen held them to one ninth-inning run the rest of the way, while the Angels’ offense managed to make things interesting late.

In 11 home games this season, the Angels have scored 34 total runs. In 14 road games they have scored 85 runs and have hit 27 home runs.

“I don’t think there is anything different,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said when asked about the home/road difference from the offense. “Our intent is to have quality at-bats every time we go up there and in this game, sometimes you run into good pitching.”

Against the Blue Jays, the Angels had just three hits through eight innings then two more in the ninth when they attempted a comeback.

They took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning when Oswald Peraza and Nolan Schanuel delivered back-to-back singles with one out to put runners on the corners and Vaughn Grissom followed with a sacrifice fly.

The Blue Jays got the run right back in the sixth on an Eloy Jimenez sacrifice fly that knocked Kochanowicz from the game.

“I’m not letting the game speed up and having a little more experience under my belt,” Kochanowicz said about keeping the Blue Jays in check past the midway point of the game. “Like I said, just take deep breaths to get out of some situations. But it’s a good day. Can’t complain.”

Angels right-hander Sam Bachman prevented any further damage in the sixth inning when he struck out Dalton Varsho then pitched a perfect seventh inning on six pitches, before turning the ball over to left-hander Drew Pomeranz in the eighth.

Toronto took the lead with three runs in the eighth against Pomeranz (0-2), when Lenyn Soza had a two-run double and Jimenez followed with an RBI single. The two RBIs for Jimenez came after he had one in his first six games for Toronto.

“We liked Pom against their best guys and really executed (pitches),” Suzuki said. “… Sosa hit that ball to the gap on a good piece of hitting through the right side. That was it. I felt  Pom threw the ball good, it was just one of those nights.”

The Angels finally made some noise in the bottom of the ninth inning against right-hander Jeff Hoffman when they loaded the bases, but it came at a cost.

Mike Trout singled with one out and Jo Adell was hit by a pitch on the hands. Jorge Soler also was hit on the left elbow. Both players remained in the game after visits from the training staff.

A pinch-hit RBI single from Yoan Moncada cut the deficit to 4-2 before Hoffman was replaced by right-hander Louis Varland. Schanuel to ground into a game-ending double play on Varland’s first pitch. The close final out at first base was upheld on replay.

“(Moncada) with the huge pinch hit single and then had the right guys up and (Varland) executed a pitch,” Suzuki said. “He got Nolan to ground out.”

Angels hitters have now been hit by pitches an MLB-high 21 times this season, with the St. Louis Cardinals next closest at 18. The next-closest American League team is the Seattle Mariners at 17.

“He got hit pretty hard right in the elbow; no pad,” Suzuki said of Soler, who just returned Sunday from a four-game suspension that came as the result of an on-field brawl April 7 against the Atlanta Braves when he was hit by a pitch and then was nearly hit by another two innings later.

“We’ll see how he feels. He said he was fine, but it was a pretty good one.”