ANAHEIM — The Angels can’t get over the hump.
Despite having one-run leads in the seventh and ninth innings, the Angels lost, 7-4, to the Washington Nationals in 11 innings on Sunday.
The Angels (41-42) have had three chances to get over .500 in the past two months, and they’ve lost all three times. They haven’t been over .500 since they were 11-10.
Connor Brogdon, the Angels’ seventh pitcher of the day, gave up hits to three of the first four batters he faced in the 11th, on the way to allowing three runs.
This was an ugly game at times, with defensive mistakes leading to the Nationals scoring the tying runs in the seventh and ninth innings.
The Angels also failed to convert on their scoring opportunities when they had chances to increase the lead or win the game.
The Angels had the leadoff man on in the eighth and ninth, and they had the automatic runner at second in the 10th and 11th, and they couldn’t get any of those runners home.
Taylor Ward, who had three doubles in the game, looked at three consecutive strikes with the winning run at second in the 10th.
But the Angels could have won it before all of that if not for two crushing mistakes in the field.
The Angels had a 3-2 lead with two outs in the seventh when Ryan Zeferjahn walked No. 9 hitter Jacob Young after getting ahead of him, 0-and-2. Zeferjahn then got CJ Abrams to hit a routine popup in shallow center, but shortstop Kevin Newman lost it in the sun. The ball dropped, and Young scored.
After the Angels retook the lead in the bottom of the inning, closer Kenley Jansen was on the mound in the ninth. Daylen Lile hit a bouncer up the first base line and first baseman Nolan Schanuel let it get past him, for what was ruled a double. That led to the tying run on Young’s single.
It was the first blown save of the season for Jansen.
The game began with starter Jack Kochanowicz facing the challenge of a lineup with five lefties and two switch-hitters. Coming into the game, lefties had hit .303 with a .919 OPS against Kochanowicz.
Kochanowicz got through the first three innings on just 35 pitches, without allowing a run. He gave up a run in the fourth on two hits and a walk — all with two outs — and in the fifth, he didn’t get an out. He was pulled after a leadoff walk and a double.
One of the runners he left on base scored on a ground ball. With the bases loaded, Schanuel fielded the grounder and went to the bag before throwing home. That took off the force at the plate, and his throw was too wide for catcher Logan O’Hoppe to make a tag.
More to come on this story.
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