NEW YORK — The bullpen game didn’t work this time.
Left-hander Jake Eder gave up four runs in the third inning and that was enough to send the Angels to a 6-3 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.
The Angels began this six-game trip with a bullpen game in Philadelphia on Friday, and they squeaked out a one-run victory behind seven relievers.
This time, Eder took the mound in the third in a 1-1 game, after left-hander Brock Burke and right-hander Sam Bachman had worked the first two innings.
Eder walked No. 9 hitter Tyrone Taylor, an ominous start to the inning. He then hit Brandon Nimmo with a pitch. Francisco Lindor singled – snapping an 0-for-31 slump – to drive in the tie-breaking run.
After Eder managed to get superstar Juan Soto on a popup, he grooved a fastball to Pete Alonso, whose three-run homer sailed 439 feet, into the second deck, to essentially put the game away.
Eder gave up one more run in the fourth but then collected himself to shut out the Mets over four more innings, which not only saved the bullpen but gave the Angels a chance to make the game interesting.
They scored two runs in the seventh, pulling within 6-3. Mike Trout, who had homered in the third inning, grounded out representing the tying run.
In the eighth, the Angels had two on and two outs when Luis Rengifo was called out on a third strike that was out of the strike zone. Interim manager Ray Montgomery was ejected after that call. Tim Laker, one of the Angels’ hitting coaches, was also ejected a few minutes later.
The lineup was also without Jorge Soler, who came out of the game after one at-bat because of back tightness. Soler has been one of the Angels’ better hitters over the past two weeks, even though he said he was still playing through back discomfort.
The Angels (49-53) lost all three games in New York after winning two of three in Philadelphia.
The Angels have seven games remaining before the trade deadline. They were 4½ games out of a playoff spot as they packed up for their cross-country flight. The Seattle Mariners, one of the teams they’re chasing, will begin a four-game series Friday at Angel Stadium.
On Monday, the Angels will open a series against the Texas Rangers, and they’ll again need to figure out a way to plug the rotation hole that led to these two bullpen games on the trip.
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz was sent down in the week before the All-Star break, and the Angels still haven’t come up with an answer to replace him.
Eder now has a 4.91 ERA in 18⅓ innings in the big leagues with the Angels.
Right-hander Carson Fulmer, who started games for the Angels last season, has a 5.40 ERA in 8⅓ innings. If the Angels pull someone from the minors, they could use right-handers Victor Mederos or Caden Dana or left-hander Sam Aldegheri.
Right-hander George Klassen, who is at Double-A, was considered for this start in New York, but the Angels may not want to bring him up and start his service time clock this early in his development.
More to come on this story.