ANAHEIM — Defense and baserunning have mostly felled the Angels of late, but on Saturday night, it was the offense’s turn to go missing in action.
The Angels managed just a swinging-bunt single against the visiting Chicago White Sox in the second game of their three-game series, not nearly enough in a 1-0 loss.
“Didn’t really threaten either, so tough night,” Angels interim manager Roy Montgomery said. “Got to turn the page.”
Two days after standing pat at the trade deadline, the Angels (53-58) have dropped the first two games against a Chicago team that owns the worst record in the American League (42-69).
The Angels have lost three in a row overall.
In a 6-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, it was an error by center fielder Jo Adell to lead off the sixth inning that helped break a scoreless tie.
In the series opener against the White Sox on Friday, it was two glaring base-running errors that helped seal another 6-3 loss.
The Angels were shut out six times in their first 68 games, but hadn’t been blanked in the previous 42.
They’re now 5½ games back of the final wild-card playoff spot in the AL.
“You want to be playing meaningful games late in the season, going all the way through September, and that’s where we’re at,” Angels starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. “Obviously, we’re not in must-win territory, but we’re pretty much there. We need to win a lot of ball games, we know that, but if we play good fundamental baseball and don’t make mistakes, we can beat anybody.”
Hendricks (6-8) bounced back from a rough first trip through the batting order and lasted five innings, allowing one run and four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
“Kind of tough,” he said. “We knew our game plan going in. Young team, you can get a lot of different things there early, so they got really aggressive first time through, the first couple hitters, so just had to notice that and make my adjustment there.”
The Angels fell behind in the second inning for the second straight game and never recovered.
Luis Robert Jr. had a broken-bat single up the middle to start the inning. He stole second on the next pitch from Hendricks, moved to third on a fly out to center and scored on another line-drive single up the middle by Kyle Teel for a 1-0 lead.
After getting the second out, the White Sox loaded the bases with another single and a walk, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Barry Enright, but Hendricks bounced back to get an inning-ending ground out from leadoff hitter Mike Tauchman.
White Sox starter Aaron Civale (2-4), who had allowed one run over 11 innings in his previous two starts, retired the first nine batters in order, four by strikeout.
Zach Neto reached on a swinging bunt up the third-base line to start the fourth and took second on a disengagement violation just before Nolan Schanuel walked, but No. 3 hitter Taylor Ward struck out looking. Adell lined out softly to short, and Yoán Moncada also struck out.
Luis Rengifo walked with one out in the fifth, but that would be the final baserunner for the Angels as Chicago retired the final 14 batters in order.
Hendricks allowed just two base runners the second time through the batting order and both were erased on 4-6-3 double plays.
“Wasn’t particularly sharp, to be honest, especially at the start, but got better as I went on,” Hendricks said. “Got more into it.”
The Angels played without designated hitter Mike Trout for a second straight game because of a lingering illness, but he was available for pinch-hitting duties, Montgomery said.
Bryce Teodosio made his season debut in center field after he was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake earlier in the day. He went 0 for 2 before Travis d’Arnaud pinch hit for him in the eighth and grounded out to second.
Oswald Peraza also made his Angels debut, pinch-hitting for Moncada with one out in the seventh after Civale was lifted for left-hander Brandon Eisert.
Peraza, who was acquired from the New York Yankees on Thursday, grounded out to short.