SEATTLE — The three-game streak of solid work by Kyle Hendricks came to an emphatic end.
The veteran right-hander gave up nine runs in the Angels’ 11-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon.
“Just one of those days where I was really bad and they were really good, to be honest with you,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks was coming off a stretch of three consecutive quality starts, with a 1.42 ERA in those games. His last start, in which he went seven scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins, was his best outing of the season.
Hendricks could not slow down the red-hot Mariners, who moved into sole possession of first place in the American League West with their ninth straight victory.
“They’re playing really good,” Hendricks said. “So if you aren’t on top of your game, they’re gonna take full advantage of it, and that’s kind of what happened today.”
The Angels (69-81) were swept in the four-game series, falling a season-low 13 games under .500. This will be their 10th straight season without a winning record.
The first three games were close — two losses by one run and one by two runs — but this one got away quickly.
Hendricks gave up a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh in the first inning. In the third, the Mariners parlayed four more hits into three runs. In the fourth, four of the first five batters reached against Hendricks, ending his day.
Hendricks allowed 10 hits and two walks in 3⅓ innings. He struck out six.
“Just didn’t establish anything,” Hendricks said. “Fastball command was just off. Catching too much plate. I knew they were being really aggressive. It just starts mechanically. I’ve been really good for a while. Felt really good in my mechanics. Just one of those days where it was just off.”
While the Mariners were spraying balls all over the field, the Angels took their typical offensive pattern to an extreme.
They had two homers, solo shots from Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza. Besides that, the Angels’ only hits were the first two hits of Denzer Guzman’s major league career.
The Angels also struck out 18 times, equaling a season-high. Seattle starter George Kirby struck out 14 in 6⅓ innings. Kirby also struck out 14 against the Angels in June, which was the other game in which they struck out 18 times. On Sunday, Kirby retired the first 14 hitters before Moore’s homer.
The Angels struck out 62 times in four games against the Mariners, adding to their major league-worst total.
The Angels have 1,496 strikeouts this season, an average of 10.0 per game. With 12 games to play, the Angels are 44 away from the franchise record for strikeouts, set in 2022. The 2023 Minnesota Twins set the major league record for strikeouts with 1,654.
Bench coach Ryan Goins, who managed this weekend while interim manager Ray Montgomery was at a funeral, said that Kirby deserves some credit for the strikeouts, but the Angels also need to take accountability for their approach against him.
“Against a guy like that, who is going to pound the zone, he’s going to pound the top rail,” Goins said, “You’ve got to be aggressive. But you also have to know he’s going to live up there and pitch up there. At some point, we’ve got to hit it forward…
“At the end of the day, this is the major leagues. You’re going to get guys like that. Day after day after day, it doesn’t get much easier. Just look at the remaining schedule. You’re going to go to Milwaukee. They have good pitchers there. You know, it ain’t getting easier.”