CLEVELAND — By the time Alek Manoah took the mound, the assignment had changed. It wasn’t about getting the Angels a victory. It was about saving the bullpen.
The Angels’ plan of having Manoah pitch behind an opener failed, as the relievers who preceded him gave up all of the runs in a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.
Manoah then came to the mound for what turned out to be five scoreless innings. He and Manager Kurt Suzuki both seemed reluctant to look too much into the quality, focusing instead on the quantity.
“I didn’t know how many innings I was going to throw,” Manoah said. “I just didn’t even think about that. Just grab the ball and go make pitches. Early on I was trying to be too perfect with some pitches and then I remember my job is to kind of keep us in the game but also save that bullpen, so just started attacking and I was able to finish it off.”
Manoah threw 91 pitches (47 strikes).
Manoah’s four-seam fastball averaged 88 mph and his sinker averaged 89 mph, both down from what he was before Tommy John surgery two years ago and even down from his 92 mph average in Friday night’s relief appearance.
Manoah answered a question about his velocity with another question: “How cold was it out there?”
It was 53 degrees at first pitch.
“Seven-run ball game, I’m really not worried about the velocity, man,” Manoah continued. “I know it’s going to come. For me right now it’s just consistency, rhythm, and just doing my job when my name is called.”
He was scheduled to be the “bulk” pitcher. The Angels opted to start the game with left-hander Brent Suter against the lefty-loaded Guardians lineup. Suter got into trouble and the two relievers who followed him only made it worse, combining for five walks in the second and third innings, leading to that 7-0 deficit before Manoah got into the game.
Manoah also had traffic throughout his outing, with five walks. He gave up two hits. Two of the outs were also hard-hit balls, including a 106 mph lineout.
“He battled with what he had and kept us in the game and gave us those five innings,” Suzuki said. “We didn’t have to use anybody else in that bullpen.”
Now, the question is what the Angels are going to do the next time this “hole” comes up in their rotation. They’ve been struggling with one spot all season. Ryan Johnson left the rotation with an illness in early April, and by the time Walbert Ureña showed he could be a capable starter the Angels lost Yusei Kikuchi to a shoulder injury.
The Angels tried right-hander George Klassen twice and left-hander Sam Aldegheri once. This was the second time they tried a bullpen game, although this time they had a predetermined pitcher they hoped would get most of the outs, in Manoah.
The next time the Angels need a fifth starter will be on Sunday, the finale of a three-game series against the Dodgers.
They could give the ball to Manoah again. They could also bring Johnson back for that one. He threw 78 pitches for Triple-A Salt Lake over the weekend. Right-hander Caden Dana, Klassen and Aldegheri could all be options for that game.
It’s unlikely, but the Angels even could activate right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. He’s pitched in two minor league games, including a 94-pitch outing on Sunday.
It’s also possible the Angels could have Ureña pitch on Sunday against the Dodgers, pushing back the decision a day or two.
Whatever they do, it couldn’t work out worse than Monday’s game.
Suter worked a clean first and he was an out away from completing the second when he walked Travis Bazanna, with mostly noncompetitive pitches. That loaded the bases, prompting the Angels to bring in Jose Fermin to try to escape. Fermin threw a good 0-and-2 slider about six inches off the ground, but Brayan Rocchio reached down and flicked it into right field, for a two-run single.
Fermin came back to the mound in the third, and he couldn’t find the plate. He walked the bases loaded. Kirby Yates entered and issued another walk, followed by a single and a double, as the Guardians took a 7-0 lead.
Even though Manoah didn’t let the deficit get any bigger, the hitters did little to make it any smaller. Jo Adell drove in a run in the eighth and Vaughn Grissom drove in one in the ninth.