ANAHEIM -- Angels manager Brad Ausmus has made it clear that his preference is for his starting pitchers to avoid the third time through the order, and it’s why he’s turned to his bullpen so early in games this year.

But that strategy has irked left-hander Tyler Skaggs in recent starts, and it happened again on Saturday in a 4-0 loss to the A’s at Angel Stadium. This time, Skaggs was pulled after 4 1/3 innings after allowing an RBI double on his 91st pitch -- just his second hit allowed of the game. Ausmus turned to right-hander Trevor Cahill to face second-hole hitter Matt Chapman, who responded by launching a two-run homer on Cahill’s first pitch that put the Angels in a hole they couldn’t recover from.

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"Me and Brad have talked about this,” Skaggs said. “I'm sure he gave you his answer. Hopefully, the next time I go through the third time of the order it's deeper in the game. It's his decision. It's his team. I just come to work every day, and hopefully I can help our team win."

It was the third straight outing that Skaggs was removed against his wishes despite posting a 1.62 ERA over that span. Skaggs allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays on June 18, but he was taken out after 87 pitches, while in his previous start against the Cardinals, he was lifted after throwing five scoreless innings on 70 pitches.

Ausmus explained that he went to the bullpen again because Skaggs was facing the top of the A’s lineup, as leadoff hitter Marcus Semien came through with an RBI double off Skaggs after he walked Jurickson Profar and committed a questionable balk.

The numbers do support Ausmus, as Angels starters entered the game having allowed opposing batters to hit .322/.380/.597 when facing a lineup for a third time. For context, Angels superstar Mike Trout has a career slash line of .306/.419/.576.

“We were getting into the third time through the order,” Ausmus said. “The last couple innings, the A's really gave him tough at-bats. I just felt with the righty up, we needed a righty there to stem the tide. I didn’t want them to tack on runs.”

Skaggs’ pitch count also suffered as a result of an error by second baseman Luis Rengifo on what should have been an inning-ending double play in the fourth by Chad Pinder. Skaggs escaped a bases-loaded jam that frame with the help of a double play from Stephen Piscotty, but he threw 27 pitches in the inning and 10 after the error.

“It hurt his pitch count, but it was outstanding for him to get out of that with the double play and no runs across,” Ausmus said. “That was a huge part of the game.”

Cahill was called on for his second relief appearance after returning from a three-week stint on the injured list with right elbow soreness. He threw two scoreless innings against the Reds on Wednesday, but wasn’t as sharp on Saturday. His first pitch was the two-run homer to Chapman, with one of the runs being charged to Skaggs, who allowed two runs on two hits and four walks over his 4 1/3 innings. He later surrendered a leadoff double to Profar in the seventh, and an RBI single to No. 9 hitter Josh Phegley.

The offense, meanwhile, couldn't get anything going for a second straight night. Veteran left-hander Brett Anderson threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and two walks. The Angels' first hit against Anderson didn't come until Andrelton Simmons led off the fifth with a single up the middle on a 3-2 fastball. And their second didn’t come until Rengifo doubled with two outs in the eighth to knock Anderson from the game.

“Give him credit,” Ausmus said. “He pitched well, outstanding really. We did hit some balls hard right at people. But we have to tip our cap to him.”