ANAHEIM — The Angels’ hitters didn’t show up for this homestand, and their biggest hitter was conspicuously absent last few games.
Mike Trout struck out three times for the second straight game in the Angels’ 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday afternoon. The Angels have lost five of six games in the last week at Angel Stadium, scoring a total of 13 runs.
The Angels, who couldn’t convert after getting the tying to second with one out in the ninth, scored 13 runs in six games. The Angels (61-69) fell to eight games under .500, equaling their season-low.
Trout went hitless in 10 at-bats over the three games against the Cubs. Trout has hit .195 over his last 13 games, and he hasn’t hit a homer since Aug. 6, when he hit career homer No. 398. The 15-game drought is tied for the fifth longest in his career. The longest was a 27-game drought in 2015.
Trout said he felt like he was doing better up until this weekend, but now he’s having trouble “recognizing the pitch, just being on time.”
Trout, who missed a month with a bone bruise in his left knee, acknowledged that he’s still feeling some discomfort, but he wouldn’t say it’s affected his performance.
“I feel it,” he said. “It is what it is.”
The Angels have had to play without Trout for much of the previous three seasons, but this year’s he’s been in the lineup for all but a month. When he’s been there, he still hasn’t produced at his customary level. He’s hitting .235 with 20 homers and an .802 OPS, with strikeouts in 31% of his plate appearances. He’s walked in 16% of his plate appearances, and those walks are keeping his numbers afloat. He has a .366 on-base percentage.
Trout, 34, spoke before the season about mechanical changes he planned in order to rediscover his old swing. More than three-quarters of the way through the year, he’s still not where he wants to be.
“I think the stuff I’m doing in the cage feels good, feels right,” Trout said. “Just the last few games just fell off in the game.”
While Trout has scuffled, Taylor Ward has been the Angels’ primary run producer. He hit his 30th homer of the season on Sunday, putting the Angels on the board in the first.
“It’s awesome,” Ward said. “Definitely a goal of mine, and to achieve it is pretty special. Hopefully I can get that baseball and get a few more.”
He later drove in a run with a double, giving him 95 RBIs. Otherwise, the only run the Angels scored came on an error.
They had a chance in the bottom of the ninth to get the tying run, after Luis Rengifo singled and Yoan Moncada walked. Christian Moore and Bryce Teodosio each struck out, ending the game.
The Angels have hit .192 with a .578 OPS in the last six games.
“I’m not really sure about the other guys,” Ward said. “I think there has been some bad luck, and then I’m sure we can always clean up our plate discipline. So I just think getting back to that and hunting our plan and hoping for the best after you hit it. I just think it’s a wave, and we’ll get back on it soon.”
The lackluster offensive performance was not enough to get Kyle Hendricks a victory against his former team. Hendricks, who pitched all 276 games of his career with the Cubs before this season, was charged with four runs in 4 1/3 innings. Hendricks, 35, signed a one-year, $2.5-million deal with the Angels in an effort to prolong his career.
Although his 5.04 ERA is mediocre, he’s mostly kept the Angels in games. Hendricks has allowed four runs or fewer in 22 of his 25 starts. The Angels are 11-14 when he starts.
This time he took the mound in the fifth with the Angels down 2-1. He then gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases, ending his day.
Left-hander Andrew Chafin allowed one of Hendricks’ runners to score on a fly ball and another on a single, running the deficit to 4-1.
“When I’m executing and making my pitches, I get the swings I want,” Hendricks said. “Kind of the same story today. I feel like I made two bad pitches, the (Kyle) Tucker RBI single and then the Nico (Hoerner) RBI double. Just left a sinker over the middle (to Tucker) and left a change up up to Nico. Other than that, I thought I executed most of everything I wanted. Just got to stay with that. You know, when I’m doing what I need to do, I have the success.”