The last time the Angels walked-off in a game at the Big A was back on July 4 against the Baltimore Orioles and they stood 42-41 that night, just 5.5 games out of a playoff berth. Fast forward 82 days later to tonight, the walk-off magic could not be found as the Angels were oh so close from a win, but instead having to settle for a 6-5 loss to the Mariners.

The Mariners jumped out in front right off the bat in the first inning on Ty France’s 18th home run of the season, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead. The M’s, who are in the middle of the AL Wild Card chase behind the Blue Jays and Red Sox (who both lost Friday night), extended their lead with a pair of runs in the third as France drove in Dylan Moore on a single and Mitch Haniger scored J.P. Crawford via a ground ball force out.

The Angels, who collected a total of three base runners through the first three innings, erased the zero on the scoreboard with one swing of the bat off of Max Stassi. Following a two-out double by Jose Rojas, Stassi connected on a 1-1 slider, driving it over the wall in left field for his 12th home run of the season, closing the gap on a 3-2 deficit.

Jose Suarez kept the Halos in the game throughout his performance, retiring six of the last seven batters he faced, but one extra run was tagged to his name in the sixth inning after Maddon hooked the southpaw for reliever Jose Quijada. Quijada yielded a one-out single to Luis Torrens, extending the Mariners lead to 4-2.

Jose Suarez Final Line: (ND) 5+ IP | 5 H | 4 ER | 1 BB | 1 K | 1 HR | 3.86 ERA (97 Pitches - 63 Strikes)

The Angels offense, which has been classified as “anemic” throughout the majority of the homestand, came alive in the home half of the sixth with back-to-back RBI at-bats from Stassi (Single, scoring Mayfield) and Luis Rengifo (Sac-Fly, scoring Jose Rojas), tying the game at 4-4.

As busy as the sixth inning was with scoring, the seventh was more of the same from both squads. Seattle tabbed the Angels bullpen (Jimmy Herget and Steve Cishek) for two runs off of a France fielder’s choice and Haniger Sac-Fly. Both runs were charged to Herget, but another prime example of inherited runners coming back to bite the Angels in the butt late in games.

Jack Mayfield, who ping ponged back and forth between the Angels and Mariners this season, got revenge in the seventh as he inched the Halos closer, 6-5, with an RBI Single to center field, scoring Brandon Marsh from third. Mayfield’s hot hitting during the current homestand has him locked in on a four-game hitting streak, while batting .290 (9-for-31) with a home run and seven runs batted in.

Freshly called up from Triple-A Salt Lake, AJ Ramos (0-2, 5.26 ERA in 42 Appearances) became the 40th pitcher used by the Angels this season. His Angels debut went off without a hitch as the 35-year-old veteran kept the Angels right in the thick of it by tossing two scoreless innings and starting his night with an exclamation point by striking out Torrens looking.

The Angels did however give themselves a chance to celebrate in walk-off fashion tonight, but for the second time in three games, the offense choked with the bases loaded. After intentional walks to Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh, sandwiching a Gosselin double in between, Mayfield (Strikeout) and Rojas (Ground out) could not answer the call and essentially ending the night. In this being the team’s 81st loss of the season, the Halos finished going 3-for-9 with RISP and totaling 10 runners left on base.

Up Next...

With the opener going in favor of the Mariners, who now sit tied with the Toronto Blue Jays just two games back of the final AL Wild Card spot, the Angels will send RHP Jamie Barria (2-4, 4.77 ERA) to the mound Saturday night. Barria will face off against LHP Tyler Anderson (7-9, 4.01 ERA) on Fan Appreciation Day at Angel Stadium.

Angels News & Notes

• Joe Maddon decided to start RHP Jaime Barria (2-4, 4.77 ERA) tomorrow night (9/25) against the Seattle Mariners on four days rest
• Shohei Ohtani recorded another 4-Walk game - now ranks 2nd in Major League Baseball with 17 Intentional Walks behind Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals (22)
• Ohtani also tied Bryce Harper (2016) as the only players in MLB history to record 11 walks in a three game span