ANAHEIM -- Since joining the Angels' rotation full-time in June, Parker Bridwell has established himself as the club's most reliable starter. Entering Friday, the rookie right-hander had won five straight decisions, with the Halos going 11-1 in his starts this season.
Bridwell (aka "PBrid" for Players Weekend) delivered another strong outing Friday, but it wasn't enough to snap the Angels' losing skid, as their offense went quiet for a second straight night in a 2-1 loss to the Astros at Angel Stadium.
Bridwell dueled with Houston starter Collin McHugh for most of the evening, leaving little room for error. Unfortunately for the Angels, Bridwell made two.
With the Halos clinging to a 1-0 lead in the third inning, Bridwell tried to throw a fastball low and away to J.D. Davis, but it leaked back over the plate and Davis crushed it to left field for a game-tying leadoff home run. The Astros then took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when a wild pitch from Bridwell allowed George Springer to score from third.
"It was pretty wild," Bridwell said. "It was supposed to go outside. I pulled off a fastball and yanked it in the wrong situation."
Bridwell pitched seven strong innings, allowing two runs on six hits, while walking none and striking out five, but he was charged with the tough-luck loss after McHugh held the Angels to one run on three hits over six innings.
"When we get that lead early, my job is to go out and put up a zero," Bridwell said. "I did it the inning after that [in the second], but I need to continue to do that so we can keep the momentum."
The Angels went 13-5 to start August, but they have started to cool down, falling 1 1/2 games out of the second American League Wild Card spot after losing four of the past five games.
One night after being shut out by the Rangers, the Halos' offense generated only one run via Kole Calhoun's RBI double in the first.
Several Angels hitters have slumped this week, most notably Michael Trout, who is hitless in his last 11 at-bats and popped out to squander a bases-loaded scoring opportunity in the seventh. Andrelton Simmons (0-for-10) and Martin Maldonado (0-for-7) also had offensive droughts extend Friday.
"The bottom line is we need to start pressuring teams, getting on base and doing some of the things we can do," manager Mike Scioscia said. "The last couple nights, we haven't been able to do that."