Angels end series against Rays by curling up into a ball on the Tropicana Field turf

Angels 0 Rays 4

Welp, that was not how you want to end a series. After making the Rays kneel before them as if they were gods in the first two games, the Angels spent the last 24 hours dropping two in a row, giving them a series split. Both teams came into the 4-game set with 23-23 records and now both teams are 25-25.

It’s not like the Rays just barely squeaked by the Angels last night, or this morning/afternoon, either. The Halos ended these last two games by going scoreless for 17 consecutive innings. If it weren’t for the Albert Pujols two-run jack in the first inning of last night’s showdown, they’d be the proud owners of two shutout losses in a row. That’s not good.

Speaking of things that are not good, en fuego Cameron Maybin, who had a double in this game, was taken out and put on the bench due to some tightness in his knee. A surging Maybin + mysteriously lifted from game = trip to the 60-day DL, if I’m doing my Halos injury math correctly. Maybin said after the game that he’s OK and is expecting to play tomorrow, but we’ve heard that one before. I will believe it when I see it, but my fingers are crossed that this isn’t an issue.

The Angels had their chances to get the series win in this game, with multiple threatening situations throughout, but they really just weren’t up to the task of getting crucial hits today. The team ended up getting six hits total off of Tampa Bay starter Matt Andriese, who went 8.0 IP and gave our guys headaches galore.

Still, Andriese wasn’t perfect and there were a few situations that seemed ripe for breaking the game the Angels’ way, but all ended up being buttercups. Want to see some ugly numbers? Then how about them going 1-13 with runners in scoring position? I repeat...THE ANGELS WERE 1-13 RISP TODAY. Barf.

On the pitching side of things, today’s original probable starter, Alex Meyer, went on the DL yesterday and we got to see Daniel Wright, instead. Wright went 4.1 IP/ 6 H/ 4 R/ 2 ER/ 1 BB/ 4 Ks, and had a rough time from the first inning, when the Rays put two on the board thanks to two hits he gave up, plus a hit by pitch and an error from Luis Valbuena. His day didn’t really get any easier. If you want a pitching bright spot, it’d once again be the bullpen, who combined for 3.2 scoreless innings.

Wright may be blame of the game, if I had to pick, but Valbuena might be the underrated blame choice to go with, considering that he not only had that error in the first, but he also went 0-4. Valbuena has some things he’s got to figure out at the plate, or he needs to sit on the bench, because his numbers are doing an intense nosedive right now, taking the rest of the lineup with him in the process.

I was expecting better things from this series, especially with how it started, but then again, I expected better things from this road trip/month/season and none of that has panned out, so any disappoint I may be feeling right now rests solely on my overly-optimistic shoulders.

The Angels are now going to Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins, who have won only 16 games in 2017. If the Halos can’t win two out of three there, then I’m officially doing myself a favor and abandoning all hope for these dudes.