Angels go hitless in 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position to lose marathon game (2024)

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Angels came up with clutch pitches and defensive plays, but no clutch hits.

The Angels were hitless in 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position in their 3-2, 13-inning loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday, wasting a strong start from Patrick Sandoval.

Right-hander Carson Fulmer, working his second inning of the night, hit Nathaniel Lowe with a pitch with the bases loaded to push home the winning run.

The only runs the Angels managed were solo homers from Taylor Ward and Jo Adell, who hit a tie-breaking homer in the seventh.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Zach Neto, who struck out to strand runners in scoring position in the ninth and 12th innings. “I gotta be better myself. I had opportunities but just didn’t come through. It’s the game of baseball.”

Neto was responsible for one of the Angels’ 11 hitless opportunities with the automatic runner aboard in extra innings. Their 18 hitless at-bats with runners in scoring position was their most since 1997.

“If we get this opportunity again next time, I feel like we’ll have a better understanding of how to handle it,” Neto said. “Hopefully I can do better myself with runners in scoring position, but it’s a learning experience.”

At least the Angels could take some solace in the fact that their pitching and defense were both good enough to win on most nights.

In the 10th, Adell threw out Josh Smith at the plate to preserve the tie.

“That was awesome,” manager Ron Washington said. “That was a beautiful throw that Adell made.”

In the 12th, second baseman Luis Guillorme made a nice snag of a line drive for the first out. He then fielded a sharp grounder to start an inning-ending double play. Third baseman Luis Rengifo made a diving catch of a line drive with the winning run at third in the 13th, just before the winning run.

Earlier in the game, first baseman Nolan Schanuel had a defensive gem when he ran far into foul territory to make an over-the-shoulder catch of a popup.

On the mound,Sandoval gave up one run in six innings, continuing to show progress after a rough start to his season. He now has a 3.03 ERA over his last five starts.

One of the keys throughout Sandoval’s run of improvement has been an emphasis on his slider and changeup, and he threw both pitches effectively against the Rangers.

The Rangers whiffed on nine of 19 swings against Sandoval’s changeup. The only run he allowed came on an Adolis García homer on a Sandoval changeup in the sixth, though.

“I’m finally pitching the way I want to pitch, throwing the way I know is effective for me,” Sandoval said.

Washington said Sandoval’s changeup and slider have been keys, and he even had better command with his fastball on Saturday.

“I just wish we could have gotten some runs on the board for him,” Washington said. “He deserved a better fate.”

The Angels still had a 2-1 lead when the bullpen took over in the seventh. The Rangers tied the game with a run on a sacrifice fly against Luis Garcia in the eighth.

“G was mad at himself for giving up that one run,” Washington said, “but one run in a ballgame is hard to hang on to. All kinds of freaky stuff can happen.”

Neither team was able to mount any sort of sustained offense, so it wasn’t surprising the way the game ended. Washington had intentionally walked Corey Seager to load the bases for Lowe just before he was hit on the shin by a pitch.

Washington said it was a “very easy” decision to walk Seager. He had done the same thing, but with only a runner at second, in the 11th inning.

“I wasn’t going to let Seager beat us,” Washington said.

He couldn’t keep the Rangers from eventually winning anyway, though.

“One of those nights,” Washington said. “We just didn’t get it done. That’s all. We had more opportunities than them. That’s for sure. We just didn’t get it done. It’s tough when you go that far and have that many opportunities and don’t cash them in.”