In the middle of what still is, in theory, a divisional race, the Angels faced a dilemma Sunday. By the sixth inning, their deficit was six runs, the temperature was 102 and they had zero hits.
Though Manager Mike Scioscia said he didn’t know the Angels’ lead in the American League West was in double digits, he could afford to rest some players. But that would risk allowing a no hitter.
The Angels have played their way into this position with a dominant stretch. The 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday ended at 10 a winning streak during which they outscored opponents, 86 to 34.
After the streak, the Angels own the best record in the majors. They are the highest-scoring team with the greatest run differential. If they go .500 in the final 14 games, they’ll reach 100 victories for the second time in franchise history.
Scioscia had some room for comfort. To start the seventh inning, he hedged and made his move in waves. He replaced the middle infielders, even though second baseman Howie Kendrick had been on a tear.
Still, he kept center fielder Mike Trout in the lineup, and that paid off in the seventh inning when Trout lined a single to center field to break up Dallas Keuchel’s no-hit bid. Trout would be out of the game by the start of the eighth.
“There’s guys on the field that are tired on our club. You have to look at the big picture and what’s more important,” Scioscia said. “You know some guys are a little bit frayed with how much they’ve been playing, so I think that takes precedence over any game situation of a no-hitter or whatever decision you’re going to make.”
For the first time since Aug. 25, the Oakland Athletics won on the same day the Angels lost. The Angels still need four victories or four losses by the second-place team, Oakland at this point, to clinch the division title with 13 games to play. The Athletics trail the Angels by 10 games.
That lead has given the Angels wiggle room for days like Sunday, when starter Hector Santiago (5-8) had a rough outing.
The left-hander gave up three runs in the second inning and left with the bases loaded and nobody out in the third. No pitcher in history has thrown as many pitches as Santiago (82) to get through so few innings, at least since pitch counts have been tracked. He walked five batters, gave up five hits and threw six more balls than strikes.
Santiago’s pitch count is typically high. He averages slightly more than five innings per start, and he hasn’t thrown more than seven innings in an outing this season.
Rarely, though, has Santiago struggled as much as Sunday. He said his control hasn’t been that bad in five years, since he became a starter in the minor leagues.
“I felt myself just try to get in the zone and almost try to throw balls down the middle,” Santiago said.
Houston scored three runs against two of six relievers.
Keuchel (11-9) shut down the Angels by changing speeds and working inside with a sharp sinker. The Angels mustered only one run and three hits against the left-hander, who pitched seven-plus innings.
During their 10-game winning streak, the Angels averaged 8.6 runs per game, hit .330 and had 44 extra-base hits.
“We’ve been swinging the bat great,” Trout said. “You’re going to have times when you run into a guy that’s throwing strikes and keeping us off balance.”
If the Angels sweep the Seattle Mariners in a four-game series that starts Monday in Anaheim, they will clinch the division. It could come sooner with some help from Oakland.
“We’ll let you add them up and let us know how we did,” Scioscia said. “But we’re not looking at anything past tomorrow.”
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
