DETROIT — The Angels’ four-game winning streak came to a quiet end on Wednesday night.
The excitement of their rare success was replaced by a dud of a game, with the hitters and starter José Soriano having an off night in a 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
The Angels only had two hits – one with an asterisk – and only twice had a runner in scoring position.
“It was tough one,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “The pitchers did a good job of keeping us off balance and not really leaving anything over the plate for us to hit. It’s one of those tough ones tonight.”
Jorge Soler had the Angels’ first hit, leading off the second inning. The Angels almost got a break, but they couldn’t take advantage because Soler can’t run full speed.
Wade Meckler hit a grounder to second baseman Hao-Yu Lee, who bobbled the ball. If Soler were able to run, he might have beaten the play at second, giving the Angels two on with no outs. But Soler said through an interpreter he’s been dealing with a groin problem for the past few days, and he can only run “60-70%.” He said he can still hit, though.
“He’s battling some stuff,” Suzuki said.
After that play, Meckler stole second, which led to the Angels’ only two at-bats with a runner in scoring position before the ninth inning. Jo Adell and Oswald Peraza both struck out, two of the Angels’ nine strikeouts.
The Angels’ only other hit was a ground ball that Donovan Walton hit toward first base. The ball hit the bag and bounced away from Spencer Torkelson, so Walton was safe.
The most life that was shown in the Angels’ dugout came from Suzuki when he was arguing about an ABS challenge that Mike Trout was denied. Trout said that plate umpire Brennan Miller said “ball” and then quickly changed it to “strike.” Because of the confusion, he didn’t tap his helmet quickly enough.
“I never had that happen,” Trout said. “Caught me off guard.”
The Angels also didn’t get much of a performance on the mound from their ace, Soriano.
Soriano gave up three runs in five innings. His control was his biggest problem. He started only 11 of 24 hitters with a first-pitch strike, which led to allowing seven hits and four walks.
One of the hits was a Torkelson homer on a 3-and-2 fastball over the middle.
In the fifth inning, Soriano picked up the first two outs quickly, and then he walked the next two hitters. Riley Greene yanked a single on the first pitch he saw, driving in a run to extend the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Soriano said. “It’s one of those days when you try to grind.”
The best thing that happened for the Angels was that left-hander Brent Suter soaked up the final three innings, allowing the rest of the bullpen to have a night off. They’ll all be fresh when the Angels try to win the series on Thursday afternoon.