ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Cardinals went a long way geographically and even covered a few inches in the standings after a disastrous start to this road trip, but they could not outrun one of the anchors dragging on the offense.
The Los Angeles Angels rode a wild, somewhat wonky first inning to an early lead and the Cardinals never caught up because of their ongoing troubles with runners in scoring position. The Cardinals went hitless in their first seven at-bats with runners in scoring position and failed to close a gap that only widened later. The Angels, who spent the series showing a relentless gift for running into outs, didn’t stumble and fall this time in a 7-2 victory late Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
The Cardinals had a chance to sweep.
The Cardinals had a chance for a winning road trip.
The Cardinals had chance after chance to keep pace with the Angels.
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They did none of those things.
Anaheim-area leadoff hitter Nolan Schanuel began the bottom of the first with a solo homer and the Angels never trailed from there. A couple of unlucky bounces and a couple of unfortunate throws contributed to a four-run inning against Cardinals starter Lance Lynn. Those would be the only runs the right-hander allowed in his five innings. The Angels tagged him with eight hits and 10 baserunners, but their own knack for striding into outs and Lynn’s timely strikeouts foiled the Angels from adding on until later.
The Cardinals got a double in the first inning. Didn’t advance the runner. The Cardinals got two runners on base in the fourth inning. Didn’t advance either runner. In the fifth, a leadoff walk gave them the opportunity to bring the top of the lineup back around against starter Griffin Canning for a third time and a clear shot at erasing a four-run deficit. The leadoff walker, Masyn Winn, got only as far as a sacrifice bunt moved him.
Through five innings, the Cardinals were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Their seven runs in a win late Tuesday night masked the fact they were suddenly 2 for 20 in those spots against the Angels. Only one of those two hits drove in a run.
Going into the ninth inning Wednesday, the Cardinals were 11 for 72 for a .153 batting average with runners in scoring position on the road trip.
Paul Goldschmidt led off the sixth with a solo homer and the Cardinals’ first run. That closed them within three of the Angels, but it wasn’t for long. In the eighth, by the time the Angels had opened up a much larger lead, Brendan Donovan delivered an RBI single.
That was the Cardinals only hit with a runner in scoring position in the final 15 innings of the series in Anaheim.
Inning ricochets away from Cardinals
By the end of the first inning, just about the least interesting thing about how the Angels opened up with a 4-0 lead was the home run that got it started.
Nolan Schanuel greeted Lynn’s third pitch of the game with his first leadoff homer.
What followed was a mix of bad bounces, bad throws, and another big hit. In the inning, the Angels had a base hit carom off second base and another ricochet of Lynn’s lower leg. The Cardinals tossed in an error and a wild pitch, and the Angels stirred in a double and a stolen base to create the eventful rally.
After Schanuel’s homer, Luis Guillorme, a focal point of conversation Tuesday night after his failed execution with a suicide squeeze, drilled a grounder up the middle that hit second base and bounded away from a fielder. He scored from first on Willie Calhoun’s double to the right-center gap. Calhoun kept running for third when shortstop Masyn Winn’s relay throw sailed away from a teammate.
Kevin Pillar hit another groundball up the middle, and this one hit Lynn and rolled too far away for the right-hander to make a play.
Calhoun scored for a 3-0 lead.
The rest was up to Pillar.
A veteran outfielder picked up only recently by the Angels, Pillar stole second, advanced to third on a flyout, and then took home on a wild pitch. Lynn spiked a pitch that – true to the inning’s theme – pinballed off catcher Ivan Herrera and straight into the air. Lynn had the only play on the ball but it hung up too long to challenge Pillar’s race for the plate and a 4-0 lead.
Herrera nabs first thief
An area of the game that the Cardinals expect opposing teams to exploit while Willson Contreras recovers from a fractured arm is on the bases, where catcher Ivan Herrera has had difficulty controlling thefts.
Opponents opened the day with 21 consecutive successful steal attempts on Herrera. That was the second most in the majors without a caught stealing. (Opposing teams are 30 for 30 against Mets catcher Omar Narvaez.) The 22nd came in the first inning as Pillar slid into scoring position. In the second, Herrera got his first. Angels shortstop Zach Neto singled and attempted to steal second. Herrera threw him out for the first out of the inning.
That was the first of two times the Angels ran themselves out of the inning. Two batters reached base against Lynn in the inning, but Neto was thrown out and No. 9 hitter Kyren Paris was doubled-up off first on a fly ball to left field. Alec Burleson made the throw behind Paris to beat him back to the base for the inning-ending out.
Lynn bebopped around trouble from there to hold the score.
Angels add on vs. bullpen
The widening of the score happened later.
Reliever Nick Robertson entered a three-run game and exited having allowed the runs that doubled the Angels’ lead. Solo home runs by Neto and Taylor Ward dotted Robertson’s outing, and an RBI single with two outs in the seventh chased him from the outing one out shy of completing a second inning. Robertson had an escape available. After allowing a homer and a double to start the seventh inning, Robertson received an assist from Pillar when he ran into an out at second base.
Robertson tightened his grip on the inning by striking out Logan O’Hoppe.
All that stood between him and an exit after allowing that second home run was center fielder Mickey Moniak. A single shifted the inning. Moniak’s RBI base hit put the Angels ahead by six runs. Their bullpen had only six outs to get.