Angels blow six-run lead and lose to Blue Jays in extra innings
Sunday’s matinee could have resulted in a third straight series win to open the season for the Angels. Instead, they squandered an early six-run lead against the Toronto Blue Jays, then tried to win from behind but ultimately fell short in extra innings.
The Angels lost to the Blue Jays 12-11 in 10 innings after Cavan Biggio, Toronto’s ghost runner, scored on Kevin Kiermaier’s ground-rule double, and George Springer drove in another run against Carlos Estévez.
“I just missed my spot twice and that’s what happens,” Estévez said. “You make mistakes, you pay for it at this level.”
Mike Trout’s three-run home run in the fifth inning helps power the Angels to a 9-5 comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium.
On the pitch that resulted in the Blue Jays’ retaking the lead, Estévez explained the issue was location. He threw two changeups, the first resulting in a strike. But the second was more inside, which Kiermaier was able to jump on.
The Angels scored a run in the bottom of the 10th, but Shohei Ohtani grounded out with the bases loaded to end the game.
Reid Detmers held the Blue Jays to one hit through the first five innings. But in the sixth, Detmers unraveled. He walked Springer, gave up a single to Bo Bichette and hit Vladimir Guerrero Jr., all before an out was recorded.
A first-pitch grand slam by Matt Chapman cut the Angels’ lead to 6-4.
Detmers said he had felt fine through the beginning of his outing, but the issues in the sixth inning’ came down to execution of his pitches.
“I thought I made a really good pitch, they hit it through the hole,” he said. “Two sliders got away from me. Hit Vladdy in the foot and then after that it was kind of everything was up in the air.”
Detmers gave up another single on a bunt by Daulton Varsho before his afternoon was over. He was replaced by reliever Andrew Wantz. Later in the inning, Kiermaier hit a triple that rolled into the right-field corner, allowing the Blue Jays to score two runs and tie the score.
Manager Phil Nevin said he thought Detmers was cruising after he got through the fifth and didn’t see any signs that he was running out of steam. Detmers was going back through the top of the order for the third time to start that sixth inning, but Nevin did not intend to remove Detmers, who had thrown only 75 pitches.
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“I understand going to the top of the order again,” Nevin said, “but if I do that (pull starters) every time throughout the regular season, we’re gonna kill the bullpen and we’re not gonna have a bullpen by June and I’m not gonna do that.
“I trust these guys to get outs. They’re gonna have to go three times through the order sometimes and today was one of those days I felt we needed to do that.”
Toronto scored four more runs in the seventh for a 10-6 lead.
Detmers’ final line over five innings included five runs (four earned), two walks and five strikeouts. Ryan Tepera was charged with four earned runs in a third of an inning.
The Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Anthony Rendon drove in the first run with a single on a fly ball to left field that Varsho lost in the sun and could not catch. Then Hunter Renfroe hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot on Yusei Kikuchi’s changeup.
The Angels continued to pick on Kikuchi, Ohtani hitting a two-run homer in the third and Logan O’Hoppe adding a solo shot in the fourth. In the eighth inning, down by four runs and with Toronto reliever Eric Swanson on the mound, Brandon Drury hit his first home run of the season, cutting the Angels’ deficit to three.
In trying to come back in the bottom of the ninth, Gio Urshela, Taylor Ward and Ohtani loaded the bases against Jordan Romano on a single and two walks. Romano gave the Angels a run after hitting Rendon in the shoulder. Renfroe’s RBI double sent the game to the 10th inning.
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Drury, the Angels’ ghost runner, and Urshela, who singled to center field, and Ward, who worked a walk against Trevor Richards, loaded the bases in the 10th. Richards walked Mike Trout, which allowed Drury to score.
Tim Mayza replaced Richards and got Ohtani to ground out to second.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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