Angels' bullpen unravels after Kochanowicz's strong outing

CHICAGO -- It all started so innocently. But with the way things have been going with the Angels and their bullpen lately, it was hardly a surprise to see it unravel the way it did in the series opener against the White Sox on Monday.

Up by four runs, the Angels brought back right-hander Jack Kochanowicz for the seventh inning at 86 pitches after he had thrown six strong innings, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk. He got Sam Antonacci to hit a harmless chopper to shortstop on the first pitch of the inning, but shortstop Zach Neto allowed it to roll under his glove for an error. Chase Meidroth followed with a bunt single and manager Kurt Suzuki decided to pull Kochanowicz at 90 pitches.

The decision didn’t work out as the bullpen imploded yet again in a disheartening 8-7 loss that saw the White Sox score seven runs in the seventh before recording an out. It was the eighth defeat over the last nine games for the Angels, who also dropped a heartbreaker on Sunday that saw them fail to protect a three-run cushion in the ninth and a one-run lead in the 10th.

“His pitch count was getting up there and we just felt like things were kind of starting to kind of snowball a little bit with the error and then the bunt,” Suzuki said. “We felt like it was the right time to take him out. And it backfired, obviously, but hindsight is always 20/20. So we made the decision and we stuck with it and believed that it was the right call.”

Right-hander Nick Sandlin came in to relieve Kochanowicz and promptly gave up an RBI single to Tristan Peters before hitting Edgar Quero with a pitch. He then surrendered a two-run double to Andrew Benintendi down the right-field line to make it a one-run game. Sandlin now has a 14.29 ERA in 5 2/3 innings.

“He's been really good coming into those situations,” Suzuki said. “He just maybe left balls over the plate. It's hard to tell from the side.”

Lefty Drew Pomeranz, who served up a critical game-tying two-run homer to Jac Caglianone with two outs in the ninth on Sunday, was brought in to face the left-handed hitting Munetaka Murakami. But he threw a 2-2 fastball at the bottom of the zone and Murakami delivered a three-run blast for his MLB-leading 12th homer of the year. Before Sunday, he hadn’t allowed a homer to a lefty since 2019.

Pomeranz then gave up another blast, this one a solo shot to Miguel Vargas, to give up back-to-back homers and put the Angels in a three-run hole.

“I don't think I've had this much of a bad streak like in my career being 100 percent healthy,” Pomeranz said. “I said yesterday I don't remember the last time I gave up a homer to a lefty and then did the same thing today. … I'm here to get lefties out in big situations and I didn't do it the last two days. So it's a [bad] feeling right now.”

It spoiled an otherwise strong showing from Kochanowicz, who allowed three runs (two earned) over six-plus innings and has a 3.09 ERA in six outings after posting a 6.81 ERA in 23 starts last year. And he did it despite the start of the game being delayed by three hours because of rain.

“I felt great,” Kochanowicz said. “The direction felt good. Eliminated the walks pretty well when I was out there. … You always want to stay in there for sure. If you ask me, I always got more in the tank. But it's not my call, though. So, it just is what it is.”

The offense also wasn’t the issue and the Angels attempted to rally late, including scoring twice in the ninth, keyed by a two-out RBI double from Nolan Schanuel. But Adam Frazier grounded out to second with two runners in scoring position to end the game.

The one silver lining for the Angels is that ace José Soriano takes the mound on Tuesday and they’ve won all six times he’s started this season. He’s 5-0 with a 0.24 ERA in 37 2/3 innings and has a career 0.00 ERA against Chicago in nine innings.

“These guys get down but they keep coming back,” Suzuki said. “But really just heartbreaking loss again. We just got to see what we did wrong, learn from it, and move on to tomorrow.”