Angels lose to the St. Louis Cardinals’ Catcher

ST. LOUIS — The Angels paid the price for what it took to win four straight games.
After continually using their best relievers to help them secure that winning streak, the Angels were left with few bullpen choices in what became an ugly 12-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

“Those guys were on fumes,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “The four games we ended up winning, it was everybody on board and just caught up with us at the end.”

The Angels (4-2) were in position to extend the winning streak after Logan O’Hoppe’s grand slam in the seventh gave them a two-run lead.

However, at that point they had only two available relievers who were even semi-fresh: right-hander Ian Anderson and left-hander Brock Burke.

Anderson had thrown only 11 pitches in a perfect inning Tuesday night, but he had never pitched on back-to-back days because he’d been a starter his entire career. He last pitched in the majors before undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago.

Anderson gave up six hits – including two bunt hits – and walked one. He allowed the Cardinals to tie the game quickly in the bottom of the seventh.

“He’s not used to going back-to-back, but he was a guy that we felt could go out there and get us a couple of innings, and it just didn’t work out,” Washington said. “He left some pitches up, and they put some good at-bats on him. And the game just got away at the end.”

Anderson left with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth, with the game still tied at 5. Burke then walked in two runs and gave up a two-run single and a three-run homer.
Anderson and Burke combined to allow nine runs, eight of them earned.

The Angels used left-hander Reid Detmers to get the final out, but they certainly didn’t want to use him after he’d thrown 40 pitches Monday. The Angels couldn’t use a position player to get the final out because they were down by only seven, and the rules prohibit position players from pitching until the margin is eight.

The Angels may have been able to get a fresh arm or two from the minors before the game, but they would have likely had to option right-hander Ryan Johnson to do that. Instead, they gambled on being able to get through the last game before Thursday’s off day with what they had.

They’ll send José Soriano and Jack Kochanowicz to the mound Friday and Saturday. They are their two most pitch-efficient starters, so they should be able to get deep into the game. Soriano threw seven innings on 73 pitches and Kochanowicz threw six innings on 64 pitches the first time through the rotation.
Even though their pitching staff was not in a good place Wednesday, the Angels could take solace in the fact that they at least won some games on the way to getting there. They won in extra innings Monday and Tuesday.

“When you’re trying to be successful, you need bulldogs down there (in the bullpen),” Washington said. “Sometimes that’s the way it goes. What really killed us is all the extra innings on this road trip.”

Their starters did their part, with five quality starts. They compiled a 3.25 ERA on the trip.

Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi allowed three runs in six innings Wednesday. He walked five and gave up two homers, both on misplaced breaking balls.

“Obviously, control is off a little bit, but I thought I was still able to grind through, keep the team in the game, go six innings,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “Obviously a couple of home runs I gave up were not where I wanted to throw it, but I’ll make the adjustment for next time.”

The Angels were down 3-1 when Kikuchi threw his final pitch, but they erased that deficit quickly in the top of the seventh.
Jorge Soler lined a single into center. Yoán Moncada reached base on an infield hit with a bouncer off the glove of first baseman Willson Contreras. Nolan Schanuel was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases.

O’Hoppe swung at the first pitch, a letter-high sinker, from right-hander Sonny Gray. O’Hoppe pounded it into the first row beyond the fence in right-center for his second career grand slam.
It was the first time the Angels hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh or later since Jo Adell did it Aug. 17, 2021.

The day’s other positive came in the first inning, when Mike Trout hit his first homer of the season. Trout doubled on Tuesday night and hit a fly ball to the warning track.

“It’s getting close,” said Trout, who is 3 for 21. “It’s good to see. Put some good swings on balls, barreled some balls.”

Trout and O’Hoppe said they were disappointed in the final game of the trip, but not the overall performance.

“If you told me we were going 4-2 to open this season, I’d take it,” O’Hoppe said. “Obviously you’re not happy about today, but there are a lot of positives to take going on the plane back.”

https://www.ocregister.com/2025/04/02/angels-taxed-bullpen-falters-late-in-loss-to-cardinals/