The Reds suffered a lopsided loss to Rockies. Here's what happened
Reds suffer a heavy loss to the Rockies at home.
The Los Angeles Angels lost to the Chicago White Sox after leading 2-1 entering the ninth inning. Yusei Kikuchi exited early, and the Angels bullpen faltered once again.
Los Angeles Angels left fielder Josh Lowe (3) after striking out during the tenth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field
(. Matt Marton-Imagn Images)
CHICAGO - The state of the Los Angeles Angels bullpen hasn't been a secret this season, but the latest loss against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday has made the situation undeniable.
It was a much tighter affair on Wednesday, but still the Angels entered the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead before disaster struck yet again.
Ryan Zeferjahn was on the bump this time for the Angels looking to close out the game, but Tristan Peters was hit by a pitch to put the tying run aboard.
Zeferjahn struck out the next batter he faced, bringing up Sam Antonacci, who sent a triple down the right field line to score Peters and square up the game 2-2 and eventually send it into extras. The Angels went down in order in the top of the 10th, but the White Sox proved more resilient in the bottom half of the inning.
While the White Sox already had the designated runner on second, Drew Pomeranz, the new Halo hurler sent to preserve the game soon loaded the bases after walking the first two batters that he faced, one of those walks being intentional.
Colson Montgomery came up with one out and on the first pitch of the at-bat, a knuckle-curve from Pomeranz that hung over the middle-inside portion of the plate, Montgomery ripped a walk-off single straight up the middle to win the game for Chicago 3-2.
The Angels lost due to their bullpen giving up the lead in the ninth inning after Yusei Kikuchi exited early.
The Angels bullpen has struggled throughout the season, consistently failing to maintain leads in critical moments.
Yusei Kikuchi was the starting pitcher for the Angels in the game against the White Sox.
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The game was in the bullpen's hands for the most of the day after starter Yusei Kikuchi left the game after just two innings with shoulder tightness. Kikuchi was scoreless in his two innings of work while the bullpen allowed just one inning heading into the ninth. But when the Angels were desperate for a save, their relievers couldn't deliver.
For the third time in the last four games, an Angels opponent has come from behind to take down Los Angeles and now the Angels have lost 10 of their last 11 games and are stuck in the midst of a six-game losing streak after back-to-back sweeps at the hands of the Kansas City Royals and White Sox.
Pitching for the Angels has been a Jekyll and Hyde story so far this season.
The starting rotation has made major strides under pitching coach Mike Maddux. Led by José Soriano's hot start to the season, the Angels starters have a 3.94 ERA, 13th in MLB.
The bullpen on the other hand, which has historically been a weakness for the Angels, has the second-worst reliever ERA at 5.58, trailing only the Houston Astros.
Bullpen's form the foundation of any team. They hold the keys to the end result of a game no matter how well a starter or offense performs. A struggling bullpen often translates into a struggling team, as the Angels are all too well aware of already this season.