So, the Angels got off to an exiting start on Sunday, scoring 5 runs on the bottom of the first, and looking like their pre-All Star game selves. But it wasn't to be.
At LAT, "Angels' promising start fades quickly in Toronto rout":
After Sunday's 12-5 shellacking administered by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels did not open their clubhouse for about 30 minutes after the final out, an unusually long delay.More at that top link.
Before anyone went in or out, there were problems to work through.
"We talked about a couple things," Manager Mike Scioscia said.
There was a lot to talk about. Sunday was the Angels' fourth loss in a row, a stretch in which they've been outscored 44-12. Even for the high-octane Blue Jays, the weekend was unprecedented: Never before has Toronto scored 36 runs in a three-game series.
In the field, the Angels committed two more errors, making six on the series. The offense finally asserted itself, then shrunk back over the final 25 outs. For good measure, there was a base-running gaffe.
The Angels have slid to third place in the American League West, 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros, and 1 1/2 behind the Texas Rangers in the wild card.
Facing that, the team held its closed-door post-mortem. But the problem, said Scioscia, is not one of work ethic or confidence.
"I'm not going to comment on what was said and what we're trying to accomplish," Scioscia said. "But there's no doubt that the confidence that this team has, has to show up on the field."
"The leadership in there is fine," Scioscia added.
Afterward, at his locker, first baseman Albert Pujols declined to speak about the meeting.
"That's not your guys' business," he said.
He declined to speak about any building frustration.
"Frustration? Why?" he said. "It's a tough weekend. Now you're going to put words in my mouth? I'm done talking."
Little could be said that the Angels' play didn't say already. Sunday's start did actually inspire hope. In their first trip through the lineup, the Angels batted 1.000. They tagged knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for five runs in the first inning, powered in part by a run-scoring single from C.J. Cron, a run-scoring double from Caleb Cowart and a run-scoring triple from Mike Trout. They led 5-1.
The Blue Jays would lead by the third inning.
Right-hander Garrett Richards gave up runs in the first four innings. For the first three, the Blue Jays mostly singled him into submission, but in the fourth, Jose Bautista blasted a home run so far that Richards already had the next baseball and had returned to the rubber by the time it landed, some 440 feet away...
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