ANAHEIM — Closer Carlos Estévez spoiled what had been an outstanding night for Angels pitchers on Friday.
Estévez entered with the Angels working on a shutout, but he gave up a two-run homer to the Kansas City Royals’ Adam Frazier in a game the Angels lost, 2-1.
Estévez recorded the first out of the ninth, but then he gave up a single to MJ Melendez. He threw a 2-and-0 fastball on the inner half to Frazier, who yanked it just inside the right field pole.
It was the third blown save of the season for Estévez in nine tries. He has a 6.17 ERA. Angels fans showered him with boos before he got the final out of the ninth inning.
Angels relievers inherited a 1-0 lead when Griffin Canning left after a strong start with two outs in the sixth and two runners on.
Right-hander Adam Cimber was the first pitcher out of the bullpen, and he struck out the only hitter he faced.
Cimber has been the Angels’ best reliever all season, posting a 2.65 ERA. He has entered with 10 runners on base and he has stranded all of them.
Left-hander Matt Moore then got through the seventh, working around a hit and a walk. Right hander Luis Garcia then pitched a perfect eighth. Garcia has not allowed a run – or a run by an inherited runner – in 14 of the 17 games he’s pitched.
Estévez couldn’t get the final three outs with the lead, though, which cost Canning a victory.
He cruised through the first four innings and then he got himself into and out of a jam in the fifth.
In the sixth, he gave up a two-out double and then a walk, so then Manager Ron Washington went to Cimber.
The Angels’ pitchers had to be on top of their game because the offense managed nothing other than Jo Adell’s sixth homer of the season.
Related Articles
Angels’ Brandon Drury has no regrets about trying to play through hamstring issue
Angels Deals: Free food and discounts for fans based on Angels games
Angels preach optimism as Royals hand them another home loss
Angels’ Mike Trout says surgery was better than spending rest of season as DH
Alexander: What can your favorite team’s ownership do better?
Adell hit a 436-foot shot into the fake rocks beyond the center field fence in the fifth inning.
Prior to that, the Angels had failed in the type of situational baseball that Washington values so highly.
In the second inning, the Angels had a runner at second with no outs, but then Matt Thaiss, Adell and Zach Neto all struck out.
The Angels got a leadoff double from Luis Guillorme in the third, and this time they got the runner to third on a ground ball, but they still couldn’t get him in. The Angels tried a suicide squeeze and Mickey Moniak popped up the bunt, hitting into a double play.
More to come on this story.
Leave a Reply