Angels get shutout by Estes in ugly loss to Athletics

Starter Davis Daniel came back down to Earth, delivering a much more sloppy start than in his debut as the Angels were shut out 5-0 by the Athletics on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum.

Daniel (1-1) did not bring the same magic that he did in his MLB debut. Making his second career start, he exited after 5 1/3 innings and seven hits allowed. The rookie threw 88 pitches (61 strikes) as he struck out three and walked one. 

The Angels struggled offensively all game. They collected five hits and saw almost no life from the top half of the order.

They team grounded into three double plays, eating away at some of their rare opportunities. It was the first time that Los Angeles scored less than five runs in a game since June 22.

The Angels' hitting woes can be attributed to the dominance of Athletics starter Joey Estes. The right-hander pitched a complete game, holding Los Angeles at bay for his entire outing.

It marked the fourth time this season that the Angels have been shut out.

The team is now 36-49, and has lost all momentum from their winning streak. They still remain 2½ games behind the Texas Rangers for third place in the AL West, and will look to avoid a sweep Thursday.

Here are three takeaways:

Rengifo exits game

Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo, who trails only Aaron Judge for the highest batting average in the AL, left the game early with a wrist injury. The 27-year-old was sidelined in the ninth inning after fouling a ball off and was replaced by Luis Guillorme.

Rengifo, who will undergo imaging for the injury, was  hitless in the game, going 0-3 and bringing his average to .315. Angels manager Ron Washington spoke regarding the status of his third baseman following the loss.

The Angels have to hold their breath as they wait for the severity of the injury. Rengifo, who has made a strong case to be the team's MVP this season, has tallied 79 hits, which leads the team.

In other injury news, Anthony Rendon is scheduled to begin facing live pitching this weekend. Rendon has been on the 60-day IL with a hamstring injury and last played April 20.

Angels lineup falters

After going eight consecutive games without being out-hit by their opponents, the streak was broken  Wednesday night. Oakland poured on 10 hits, doubling the five hits that Los Angeles delivered.

The top four spots in the lineup struggled especially, finishing a combined 2 for 13. The Angels failed to generate many scoring chances, having  three at-bats with runners in scoring position (0 for 3). 

Despite striking out a combined four times, Los Angeles could not hit the ball to the right spots. 

The lineup even went down in order the first time through before Nolan Schanuel provided the first hit of the game in the fourth inning. Quite simply, the Angels have not won games this season without scoring at a high clip.

The team's record in games where they have scored five or more runs this season is 25-13 (.658). In contrast, they have gone 11-36 when scoring four or less runs (.234). 

The drastic drop-off tells the story of an Angels team that does not perform well without their offense contributing on a high level.  At 4.13 runs per game this year, Los Angeles holds the 11th-lowest scoring offense in baseball. 

Only three of the hitters in the lineup  Wednesday hold an average of .250 or higher. The team will need to start scoring more once again if they want to end their losing streak and become more aggressive in games.

Different side of Daniel

Daniel saw a big difference in results from his first start June 27, when he became the first pitcher to throw eight or more innings with eight or more strikeouts in a first career start since 2001. He is just the fourth pitcher since 1901 to accomplish the feat.

It was a a sloppier performance this time around. The 27-year-old's first blunder of the night came in the second inning, when he had a chance to get out of a runners on first and third jam, but took a comebacker from Brett Harris and threw it into center field. 

The throw, which would have set up an inning-ending double play, could not be handled at second as Zack Gelof scored the game's first run. Later in the inning, Lawrence Butler scored as Harris was caught stealing second base.

Daniel also allowed two homers in his outing, a pair of solo shots to Max Scheumann and Brent Rooker.

The right-hander finished with five runs allowed (four earned) as his ERA jumped to 2.70. It was the second consecutive day that Angels starters allowed two home runs. 

Additionally, Los Angeles has now allowed five or more runs in four consecutive games. Daniel and the rest of the staff will need to hit the drawing board as they figure out how to avoid giving Angels' opponents the early momentum. 

Los Angeles and Oakland will play the final game of the series at 1:07 p.m. Monday. Angels right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-0, 3.82 ERA) will make his second start against Oakland left-hander JP Sears (4-7, 5.00), has not earned up a win since May 25.