Angels’ bats remain quiet as losing streak reaches 5 games

ANAHEIM — Angels hitters showed some signs of life on Monday night, but not enough to snap their losing streak.

The Angels ran their scoreless streak to 18 innings on their way to a 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, their fifth straight loss.

The Angels (9-14) were shut out on Sunday in Cincinnati and they didn’t have a run until Jo Adell’s homer in the seventh inning against the Orioles, when they were already down by four.

A Nolan Schanuel RBI single cut the deficit to two, and they had a promising rally in the ninth, but they came up short.

The Angels loaded the bases against Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel with one out, but Schanuel popped out. Mike Trout then was called out on strikes. It was the second time in the young season that a ninth-inning comeback attempt ended with the bases loaded and Trout at the plate, including the April 14 game at Boston.

During the losing streak the Angels have scored seven runs and they’ve hit .211.

Trout and Taylor Ward, two of the only Angels players who had been hot for most of the first three weeks, have gone cold lately. Trout is 1 for 18 and Ward is 2 for 17 during the losing streak.

Trout drew a first-inning walk on Monday, and then Ward and Miguel Sanó failed to so much as advance him. In the third, Zach Neto was at second with Trout and Ward coming to the plate, and neither could drive him in.

A fitting snapshot of the Angels’ futility came in the sixth inning.

Trout led off by drawing a walk. As Ward worked a full count, the Angels put Trout in motion. Ward then punched the 3-and-2 pitch right back to right-hander Albert Suarez. He snagged it and then casually flipped it to first, for a double play.

Trout had another opportunity in the seventh, after Schanuel’s single. He represented the tying run when he grounded out.

While the hitters struggled for most of the night, starter Reid Detmers pitched well enough to get through seven innings, allowing four runs.

The Orioles nicked him for single runs in the second, third, fifth and seventh innings.

James McCann pulled a homer just inside the left field pole to get the Orioles on the board. An inning later, Detmers walked No. 9 hitter Jorge Mateo to start the inning. Mateo then stole second and third. Adley Rutschman then poked a soft line drive over the drawn-in infield, knocking in a run.

In the fifth, Detmers nearly struck out Gunnar Henderson, but catcher Logan O’Hoppe had the foul tip bounce out of his glove. Henderson then rolled a single through the right side, and Rutschman drove him in with a double into the gap.

Detmers gave up a homer to Colton Cowser in the seventh.

More to come on this story.