Angels manager Phil Nevin reflects on decisions, disappointment from Sunday’s loss
ANAHEIM — In the wake of one of the most gut-wrenching losses of the season, Angels manager Phil Nevin sat in his office reflecting a little longer than normal.
“Last night stung, it hurt,” he said on Monday, a day after they blew a four-run lead in the eighth inning of a loss to the Houston Astros. “I stayed in for quite a bit longer last night. When I left there were still a lot of guys sitting around. Sometimes you need that, to cleanse things, to get it out of your system before you go. You come back with the same attitude, same effort to focus on today’s game.”
The Angels’ season is slipping away with a 2-11 stretch that has knocked them from a playoff spot to six games out of the third American League wild-card spot, prior to Monday’s game.
They could have been four games out if they had been able to hold on to Sunday’s game, but they were doomed by a collection of bad pitches, managerial decisions that didn’t work and an injury.
Starting with the latter, Nevin explained on Monday that right-hander Chris Devenski felt something in his right hamstring on Saturday but did not alert the Angels until before Sunday’s game.
“He thought it was just a twinge and a cramp but it’s a little bit more than that,” Nevin said. “He came in. He tried to throw and realized he’s not going to be able to really push off and land like he wanted to.”
Nevin said Devenski “was crushed” by the realization that he was unable to pitch.
The Angels placed him on the injured list on Monday. Nevin said they’ll have to wait for the inflammation to subside before they can have a gauge of how much time he’ll miss.
“Hopefully it’s not long,” Nevin said. “We’ll probably get better answers in the next couple days. Talking to (head athletic trainer Mike Frostad) today, he doesn’t feel like it’s anything significant. No tearing or anything like that, but certainly enough to keep him off the mound for a little bit.”
Devenski’s absence from the bullpen removed one option for Nevin as he tried to navigate six innings after starter Tyler Anderson’s short start.
When they were down to six outs to go, with a four-run lead, Nevin chose to have closer Carlos Estévez pitch the eighth, because the Astros had middle-of-the-order hitters Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and José Abreu due. Estévez gave up two runs on 15 pitches.
Nevin then chose not to have Estévez work the ninth, a decision that was widely questioned after Jaime Barría gave up four runs and took the loss.
Nevin reiterated on Monday that he felt he couldn’t ask Estévez to pitch two innings after he had warmed up on Friday and thrown five pitches in Saturday’s game.
“That would be three days in a row,” Nevin said. “Am I gonna tell you he’s never gonna pitch three days in a row? Absolutely not. But in the middle of a three-days-in-a-row stretch, you’re not gonna see him throw two innings. We’re not going to do that to somebody. The conversation was had before he got to the dugout, and we were all in agreement that we just can’t do that to him. And when I mentioned it to him, he not just understood but I think he had the same feeling we did.”
Estévez said after the game that “I wish I went back out there, but at the same time I understand he’s trying to protect me.”
As the Angels prepared for Monday’s game against the New York Yankees, they refreshed their bullpen by bringing up right-handers Gerardo Reyes and Jimmy Herget. One replaced Devenski and one replaced Zack Weiss, who was optioned.
OHTANI UPDATE
Shohei Ohtani is still scheduled to start on Friday at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, despite recent issues with his finger.
Ohtani has had trouble with a cracked fingernail and a blister, with each presenting different problems in different games. The skin is irritated by the cover they were using for the nail, Nevin said.
Nevin said they keep trying different things, and their current solution looks “a lot better for him.”
INJURY UPDATES
Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who is out with a bruised shin, was to begin doing some activities on the field, Nevin said, adding that “he’s felt a lot better today.”
Rendon is eligible to come off the injured list on Friday. Although that seems optimistic, Nevin said he could turn the corner quickly, as he did when he bruised his wrist last month.
“I think he’s gonna come in one day and say ‘I think I can go tomorrow,’ and then we’ll see how it goes,” Nevin said. “He comes in and says ‘Yep, today’s the day.’ It’s all pain tolerance right now.”
Second baseman Brandon Drury, who is out with shoulder inflammation, took batting practice in the cage. Nevin said they are working toward having him face live pitching.
Right-hander Ben Joyce, who has an irritated nerve in his elbow, threw off a mound on Monday in Arizona, the first time he had done so since he was injured.
“When you’re talking about the nerve and the ligament, the ligament’s fine, but we don’t want that to graduate into the ligament,” Nevin said. “So you have to be careful with how you go forward in this process. Evaluate after each time he’s on the mound. He’s been pain-free up until now. As far as his progress, I can’t tell you if it’s days or weeks.”
Left-hander José Suarez, who has shoulder inflammation, will pitch in a rehab game on Sunday in Arizona.
Right-hander José Marte, who has a right elbow stress reaction, is also ready to pitch in a game. Right-hander Davis Daniel, who has a right shoulder strain, has been throwing off a mound.
UP NEXT
Yankees (RHP Domingo German, 5-5, 4.32 ERA) at Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 4-7, 4.41), Tuesday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM