Angels’ bats fall silent after early strikes

ARLINGTON -- After squandering a healthy early lead, the Angels loaded the bases in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings Monday night against the Rangers, but failed to score in an 8-7 loss at Globe Life Park.

Having wasted so many chances, the Angels eventually fell when reliever Noé Ramirez surrendered a walk-off single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the 11th inning. With a runner on third, Kiner-Falefa hit a high, slow chopper that Ramirez fielded behind the mound, but he had no play on.

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Halos manager Brad Ausmus lamented the fact that his pitchers issued nine walks -- including four by starter Dillon Peters -- and his hitters were held scoreless for nine consecutive innings after taking a 7-1 lead after two frames.

“We jumped out to a big lead, obviously didn’t tack on after the second and we walked too many guys. ... It’s as simple as that, that was the game for me,” Ausmus said. “We had the chance late, but to me, the crux of it was we didn’t tack on, and we walked too many guys.”

While the Angels failed to score any insurance runs after the early surge, the Rangers clawed back slowly and ultimately tied the game on a Rougned Odor single in the eighth.

Odor also squashed the Angels’ best chance to retake the lead with a dazzling double play in the 10th on Shohei Ohtani’s line drive to second with the bases loaded and one out. Odor caught Ohtani’s liner and quickly fired to first to catch Mike Trout off the bag for the third out.

The Angels also had an opportunity to score a run in the 11th with Albert Pujols on second after his first steal of the season. Luis Renfigo, however, hit a rocket at right fielder Shin-Soo Choo for the third out.

“They hit them on the screws,” Ausmus said of Ohtani and Rengifo’s final at-bats. “[If] Rengifo’s is eight feet either way, it’s probably a double or a triple. And Ohtani, right at Odor -- heads-up play, off-balance throw by Odor. That’s tough on the baserunner. Trouty almost got back. A frustrating day overall.”

More than four hours before Kiner-Falefa’s game-winning hit, Angels cleanup hitter Justin Upton drove in one with a first-inning double, Kole Calhoun singled home a run and Pujols followed with a ringing three-run homer that jumped off the bat at 106 mph and traveled 416 feet to left, according to Statcast.

In the second, Ohtani added an RBI triple, wheeling across the bases in 11.09 seconds, the Angels’ second-fastest home-to-third time since Statcast began tracking in 2015. Upton drove in Ohtani with a single, but the Angels never scored again, leaving 12 men on base for the game.

Ramirez took the loss, but Peters was ineffective in four-plus innings. In addition to the four walks, he allowed seven hits (one homer) and five runs (four earned).

“It’s a little tougher to swallow when you have a big lead, and you put runners on base that are not earning their way,” Ausmus said. “It wasn’t lack of effort, obviously, he’s clearly trying to throw strikes. It didn’t look like he had a good feel for much, honestly. The curveball was hit or miss. He threw some good fastballs, but misfired on some. It was just one of those nights where he didn’t have his best stuff and his best command.”