ANAHEIM -- When the Angels surprisingly traded for Chris Stratton right before the start of the season, they hoped he’d bring some stability to the back end of the rotation. But that hasn’t been the case so far, and the right-hander scuffled again in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Stratton, acquired from the Giants for lefty Williams Jerez on March 26, surrendered four runs on nine hits and a walk over five innings. He matched a season high with the five frames and set a season best with six strikeouts, but he was hurt by a pair of homers and has a 7.04 ERA in five starts.

“It’s just been a frustrating start for me," Stratton said. "I feel like I’m a lot better than the product I’m putting out on the field. I’m definitely putting in all the work in between starts. I’m just ready for the results. This is a results-oriented game. It doesn’t make you feel good when you go home, but I feel like I’m continually getting better. At the end of the day, I just wasn’t good enough to win.”

With left-hander Tyler Skaggs expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list this weekend, the Angels will have to determine whether Stratton will remain in the rotation. He’s out of Minor League options, which means he’d have to be placed on waivers if they decide they want to send him to the Minors. Stratton could also be a candidate to be moved to the bullpen. But manager Brad Ausmus said as of now, Stratton is expected to make his next start.

"As of right now, yeah,” Ausmus said. “We haven't even discussed that."

Stratton, who had a 4.63 ERA in 213 2/3 innings with San Francisco from 2016-18, served up a homer in the first inning to Luke Voit on a hanging curveball with a 1-2 count, giving Voit a homer in the opening frame for a second straight game. Stratton ran into trouble in the second, loading the bases with one out, but he limited the damage by allowing just one run on an RBI groundout from Tyler Wade.

The long ball bit him again in the fifth, when he gave up a two-run blast to Mike Ford on a 3-1 fastball, marking Ford’s first career homer. Stratton retired Mike Tauchman to get through five innings, but he was removed after throwing 93 pitches.

“I just feel like anything that’s not perfect right now is getting hit, and that’s a tough place to be as a pitcher, feeling like you have to be perfect,” Stratton said. “I know the tide’s going to turn. I just have to stay true to what I’m doing.”

Relievers Justin Anderson and Sam Freeman, who were both brought up from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game, combined to allow three runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with Freeman allowing a second homer to Voit in the eighth.

Late rally falls short

The Angels got back into the game with a grand slam from Justin Bour in the eighth off reliever Chad Green, but it was too little, too late for the Angels, who have dropped eight of nine.

"It’s just a grind, continuing to battle," Bour said. "You could tell tonight there was no quit. Guys are grinding every single at-bat. We’ll be OK. ... Our main focus is playing every day and winning. We’re not even through the first month yet. You focus on each day and move on from there. Not so much big picture. As soon as you focus on the big picture, you get lost in it."

Ausmus had a similar sentiment, as the Angels have rallied back in several games recently, including erasing an eight-run deficit on Thursday and coming back to the tie the game in the eighth inning on Friday with a two-run homer from Mike Trout, only to lose both of those games. Of their last six losses, none have been by more than two runs.

“It's a good sign they're not giving up,” Ausmus said. “They're fighting. In the big picture, they should remember that as well. Because it's been a slow start to the season, so it's not just in a game you can fight back, but fight back, overall."