Angels crumble defensively in loss to slumping Mets

NEW YORK -- After grabbing the early lead, the Los Angeles Angels could not hang on in a tough 7-5 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field on Monday evening. The Halos are now 49-51 and 25-28 on the road.

Logan O'Hoppe and Taylor Ward jumped on Mets' ace Kodai Senga early as the Angels set the tone. O'Hoppe, who broke a 61-at-bat home run drought with a solo shot in the second, got Los Angeles on the board before Taylor Ward's two-run double in the third made it 3-0.

Ward, who later singled in another run to make it 5-2 in the seventh, has now recorded four straight multi-RBI games. His 76 RBI lead the Angels by a wide margin and are the fourth-most in the American League.

Senga, who headed into Monday's game at 7-3 with a 1.39 ERA, conceded four runs in a start for the first time this season. He worked just three innings on 73 pitches, allowing four hits and walking three.

Angels' starter Tyler Anderson looked promising through his first six innings on the mound, limiting the Mets to just a pair of runs on a fourth-inning, two-run homer from Brett Baty. However, he failed to record an out in the seventh, exiting after issuing a leadoff walk to Francisco Alvarez and allowing a single to Luisangel Acuña. 

Reid Detmers came on out of the bullpen looking to shut down the New York rally, but hit Brandon Nimmo to load the bases with nobody out before a fielder's choice from Francisco Lindor made it 5-3. Juan Soto ultimately came up with the big game-tying single, ripping one through the middle to even the score at 5.

Following a scoreless top of the eighth for the Angels, Jose Fermin got into trouble in the bottom half of the frame as some poor defense behind him allowed the Mets to complete their rally. Fermin issued a one-out walk to Brett Baty before Fracisco Alvarez hit a fly ball to right field that Chris Taylor misplayed, allowing Alvarez to reach on a double.

Monday marked Taylor's first appearance since June 9 after spending time on the IL with a broken left hand. He finished 0-1 as a pinch hitter.

With both Alvarez and Baty in scoring position, New York claimed the lead on a Ronny Mauricio ground ball to Yoán Moncada. The third baseman attempted to nail Baty out at the plate, but O'Hoppe could not handle the throw home as it became a 6-5 game. 

Brandon Nimmo would follow with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-5, completing a 7-1 scoring run for the Mets. With their final chance in the top of the ninth, Nolan Schanuel, Mike Trout and Ward each struck out against Edwin Diaz to end the game.

Trout finished 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts, snapping a six-game hitting streak. He is still seeing the ball much better in the month of July so far, hitting .267 with four home runs and 13 RBI.

The Angels will look to clean up their defensive miscues in the second game of the series on Tuesday afternoon. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.88 ERA) will make his 19th start of the season against Mets' right-hander Frankie Montas (2-1, 5.03 ERA).

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PT.