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Angels’ offense arrives too late to avoid another loss – San Bernardino Sun

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Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night, April 29, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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SEATTLE — The Angels’ hitters finally showed a little life, although it came too late.

After their scoreless streak reached 21 innings, the Angels scored three runs in the final three innings of a 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Over the last 16 games, the Angels have scored 38 runs, an average of 2.4 per game.

Not surprisingly, the Angels (12-16) have lost 12 of those games, erasing all the encouraging signs from their 8-4 start.

“The at-bats were better, more competitive,” Manager Ron Washington said. “We were able to put some runs on the board in back-to-back innings, something that we haven’t done in a while. We kept the line going, and we still had an opportunity to tie that ball game, but it just didn’t happen.”

For much of this one, the story was one Jack Kochanowicz mistake – a three-run homer – and the Angels’ hitters stringing together more zeroes.

The Angels had two hits in the first six innings. Their best scoring chances were created by drawing five walks, but they also hit into two double plays.

Logan O’Hoppe finally ended the scoreless streak – which went back to Saturday – when he hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot in the seventh.

In the eighth, the Angels scored twice after three doubles, from Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Jorge Soler. It could have been a bigger inning, but Mike Trout and Taylor Ward were both called out on strikes. The Angels struck out 11 times, the 13th time in 16 games that they’ve reached double figures.

“In that inning we had the heart of our lineup up,” Washington said. “We had a chance to do more damage. It just didn’t happen.”

The Angels also failed to capitalize on back-to-back walks to start the second inning. Moments after that, the Mariners converted in the bottom of the inning.

With two outs and runners at the corners, Kochanowicz got ahead with two quick strikes on Jorge Polanco, the Mariners’ hottest hitter.

Kochanowicz then threw three straight non-competitive pitches, all either up or well outside. Polanco then fouled off a sinker. Kochanowicz threw another sinker that was over the outside corner, but not down enough, and Polanco yanked it over the right-field fence, for a three-run homer.

“I think I was just trusting myself that I would get the ball down and throw it where I needed to,” Kochanowicz said. “Looking back on it, probably not the right pitch to throw back-to-back. He took a pretty good swing on the foul ball before that. So just gotta live and learn. Just trying to try to get it down in the zone. It wasn’t there.”

Polanco, the reigning American League Player of the Week, hit another homer against reliever José Fermin in the seventh, and those two runs proved to be the difference in the game. Polanco has hit six homers in his last six games.

After Kochanowicz gave up the homer to Polanco, he retired nine in a row and 13 of 15 to get through the sixth. It was his second straight quality start.

Kochanowicz struck out six and walked four, both unusually high numbers for him.

“Polanco got him there in the second and after that, he settled down, and he started throwing the ball extremely well,” Washington said. “He got us into the sixth inning again. He gave us six innings of three-run ball. You take that. But tonight was Polanco’s night. He drove in all five runs.”



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