Angels' bullpen falters late in loss as Rangers storm back

It was a promising start for the Angels, who ultimately let the early lead melt away behind a poor bullpen performance and took a 6-4 loss against the Rangers on Saturday night.

Los Angeles began the scoring from the very beginning, as Taylor Ward smacked a leadoff solo shot to get things going.

Anthony Rendon would also have a sacrifice fly in the frame to give the Angels another run.

In the sixth, the Angels scored twice more on a wild sequence which allowed Zach Neto to score via wild pitch, as well as an RBI single from Mickey Moniak.

On the mound, Tyler Anderson (10-12) looked very sharp up until the end. He tossed 92 pitches (58 strikes) as he allowed just one hit and struck out seven batters.

It was a much less fortunate day for the bullpen, which pitched three innings and allowed six combined hits while failing to record a strikeout. The unit ultimately blew the lead in the later innings, costing Los Angeles what was a solid all-around game until the final couple of frames.

Additionally, outfielder Bryce Teodosio started in center field and made his MLB debut. He finished 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts. 

Teodosio and outfielder Jordyn Adams will spend some time with the team at the major league level, as Jo Adell and Kevin Pillar were both placed on the 10-day IL.

The Angels are now 59-83 and 29-41 on the road. With one more game left in the series on Sunday morning, they will look to salvage a split in Texas before heading on to Minnesota.

Anderson rolls

The loss certainly could not be blamed on the 34-year-old left-hander, who came out of the gates in red-hot fashion. He was perfect through the first 3 2/3 innings of the game before finally conceding a two-out walk to Josh Jung.

Anderson would not allow his only hit until there was one out in the fifth, where he gave up a big two-run double to Ezequiel Duran. Wyatt Langford and Nathaniel Lowe had reached base before him on an Anthony Rendon throwing error and a walk.

It was a valiant effort for Anderson, who bounced back and retired the next two batters with Duran on third to escape the inning with no further damage.

On the day, he ultimately surrendered two runs (one earned), walking just two and keeping the Angels in the driver's seat for the duration of his outing. Thanks to Duran's double, he exited the game in a 2-2 tie.

After posting a season-high 5.97 ERA in August, it was a much better start to September. Anderson broke out of a stretch where he had allowed at least four earned runs in three of his final four starts of August. 

His season ERA is now down to 3.50, as he leads the team in strikeouts by a wide margin with 132 (Canning is next closest with 113). 

While he wasn't able to walk away with the victory on Saturday, the start was a step back in the right direction after a difficult stretch.

Bullpen falls apart

The unit could not seem to ride the momentum that Anderson had provided them with, quickly allowing the Rangers to jump in front. Hunter Strickland was the only bullpen arm to toss a scoreless frame, keeping Texas off the board in the sixth as he worked around a base hit allowed.

In the seventh, Victor Mederos, who has struggled significantly in his limited appearances this year, did not fare well once again. After retiring the first two batters on seven pitches, things took a turn in the wrong direction.

Mederos then conceded a pair of two-out walks, before Marcus Semien made it a 4-3 game on an RBI single. The next batter, Josh Smith, gave the Rangers the lead on a two-run single of his own.

It was a gutting two-out rally conceded by the 23-year-old, who has now allowed at least one run to score in each of his four appearances with the team. He allowed a season-high three runs and two walks on Saturday as Texas headed to the eighth with a 5-4 lead, their first of the game.

In the eighth, Roansy Contreras also failed to keep Texas off the board. He allowed doubles to Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford, who traded places with each other as it became 6-4.

He did, however, do a nice job working out of a jam with runners on first and third to prevent any further damage. Contreras has now allowed runs to come across the plate in two consecutive appearances after pitching to a 2.13 ERA in August.

It was a let-down day for the bullpen, which had pitched dominantly in the first two games of the series. They will need to be on point for Sunday's game if the Angels have any chance salvaging the finale.

Zeto's baserunning impact

Zach Neto seemed to be all over the bases in the loss, as he made sure to force the issue in the sixth to help Los Angeles temporarily regain the lead. 

He had reached via a leadoff walk, before he took off towards second and stole his second base of the game as the pitch from Andrew Chafin to Nolan Schanuel escaped toward the Rangers' dugout.

Schanuel, who took ball four on the pitch, advanced to second. It was a wild sequence as Neto did a great job of manufacturing the run to reclaim a lead. 

With his pair of stolen bases on the day, he now has 29 this season. He only has 20 home runs with 20 games left to play, so a 30-30 season does not seem to be in the cards.

Nonetheless, his aggressiveness on the basepaths is something that the Angels continue to appreciate.

Two batters later, Mickey Moniak managed to bring home Schanuel on an RBI single.

Los Angeles did a nice job getting to Chafin, who recorded just one out as he allowed a hit and a walk while they reclaimed the lead. He was one of five bullpen arms to appear in the game for the Rangers.

The Angels and Rangers will meet for the final time in their four-game set at 11:35 a.m. Sunday. Caden Dana (1-0, 3.00 ERA) will make his second career start and first on the road. Last Sunday, he became the youngest pitcher in franchise history (20 years old) to win his MLB debut.

He faces Rangers' left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-13, 3.81 ERA). Texas currently leads the season series 5-4 with three more games scheduled between the two clubs in the final series of the regular season.