ANAHEIM, Calif. — Although recent injuries have forced Angels manager Joe Maddon to shuffle his lineup, one consistent piece has been Mike Trout.
But even Trout and his late-inning magic weren’t enough Saturday night.
After the three-time MVP gave the Angels a 4-3 lead with a two-run homer in the seventh, the team’s bullpen — specifically Kyle Barraclough and Aaron Loup — were unable to hold things together.
Aided by an error by second baseman Luis Rengifo, Toronto scored three times in the eighth inning for an eventual 6-5 victory, the Angels’ fourth loss in a row.
Shohei Ohtani returned to the starting lineup, a development that normally would be nothing but positive for the Angels.
But the presence of the American League’s reigning MVP also meant the absence of Taylor Ward, who has been one the team’s most productive hitters this season.
Because of a neck stinger, Ward still can not play in the field, meaning he’s limited to serving as the designated hitter or as a pinch hitter. And Ohtani is the Angels’ regular designated hitter.
So, it’s simply one or the other at the moment for Maddon, who now also is being forced to deal with the loss of Anthony Rendon. The third baseman went on the injured list Friday because of a wrist problem.
“Just imagine, when Taylor’s in there, when Anthony’s in, and you start lining those names up, it’s kind of fun,” Maddon said. “Everybody gets in their right spot and you send that lineup over and the other team looks at it and they can’t decide who they can’t pitch to. They gotta pitch to everybody because everybody’s good.”
The other team this weekend in Anaheim is the Blue Jays, who used run-producing doubles by Matt Chapman and Raimel Tapia — both off the struggling Loup — to win the game in the eighth.
Before the start of the third inning, the Angels lost catcher Kurt Suzuki in a scary scene. He appeared to take a bounced warmup pitch from Michael Lorenzen off the throat.
Suzuki was in distress on the field before being helped into the dugout and taken down the stairs toward the clubhouse. The Angels later announced he had suffered a neck contusion and was alert and undergoing further testing.
Suzuki, 38, is in his 16th season and second with the Angels. He played at Cal State Fullerton and was drafted in the second round in 2004 by Oakland, making his big-league debut three years later.
While trying to maneuver around the injuries, Maddon also to attempting to keep the Angels’ promising start on pace as they encounter their first adverse patch of 2022.
“You need that length in your lineup,” Maddon said. “You need your guys to be there. In the meantime, you have to be creative. That’s what we’re trying to do right now…It’s part of the long season.”
The Angels now have their second four-game losing streak in the past two weeks. Overall, they’ve dropped eight of 11. And their schedule is about to heat up.
After one more matchup with Toronto on Sunday, the Angels open a stretch during which they’ll play 15 games against both New York clubs, Philadelphia, Boston and the Dodgers.
Three of those teams are in first place and, going into Saturday, the five were a combined 43 games (136-93) above .500. The dates against the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers all come on the road.
Ohtani didn’t start Friday in an attempt to rest a slight back issue that surfaced when he was pitching the day before. The problem dissipated and he was able to return as DH on Saturday.
Ward continues to progress, though Maddon said it remains unclear when he’ll be able to play to the field. Ward returned to the lineup as the designated hitter Friday — his first start in a week — and struck out three times.
“We want him back,” Maddon said. “We need him back. The lineup — it’s very simple to see — it’s entirely different when he’s out there. We were kind of moving along and then it became more difficult.
“He starts the game off often with being on base or doing some damage. It’s a long year. You gotta be patient sometimes. You never want to be patient, but we gotta be right now because I want him back right.”
Rendon’s setback is just the latest for a player the Angels signed in December of 2019 to a seven-year, $245-million deal. Because of an assortment of injuries, Rendon has played in 151 of a possible 270 games since joining the team.
Tests on his wrist showed inflammation, the Angels so far unable to set an initial timeline for his return.
Short hops
To take Rendon’s roster spot, the team called up right-hander Janson Junk. Maddon said a pitcher — and not a position player — was added to “guard the arms” over the next two days. The Angels are off Monday. ... Sam Bachman, the No. 9 overall pick in last year’s draft, pulled himself from the Angels’ double-A game Friday because of back spasms. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder from Miami of Ohio missed the first three weeks of the season because of the same issue. He returned in early May and was dominant in his first three starts, throwing 11 scoreless innings in which he gave up five hits, struck out six and walked four. A week before Bachman was injured, Rocket City lost top slugging prospect Trey Cabbage, an outfielder/first baseman who hit .327 with a 1.098 OPS, 10 homers and 32 RBIs in his first 30-games. Cabbage suffered a fractured left forearm in a collision on May 20 and will be sidelined three to four months…Jo Adell, who opened the season as the Angels’ left fielder before being sent down to triple-A Salt Lake, was recently sidelined because of the stomach flu.
