Wilson, Angels leave empty-handed against Sale

ANAHEIM -- If it's not one thing, it's another.

The Angels received another strong outing from C.J. Wilson, but failed to get any offensive production in a 3-0 loss to the White Sox on Friday night at Angel Stadium.

The loss, the Angels' fifth in the past six games, demonstrated the team's struggles to put together a complete game. When one facet of the team has a strong performance -- as the pitchers did Friday -- another area is almost always unable to match it.

"It's frustrating because I feel like we have games where we don't have all the elements we need," Wilson said. "We'll have good starting pitching, good relief pitching and maybe make a couple errors. Or, we have good hitting and the pitching doesn't show up. That's just kind of how it's been going for us. We haven't been able to get any momentum -- get enough hits in a row or wins in a row."

On Wednesday, starter Barry Enright gave up four runs in just two-plus innings, digging a hole the team was unable to climb out of. Thursday featured the bullpen allowing three eighth-inning runs, after the offense built a 4-2 lead. And a day later, the pitching did its part, but the offense was unable to provide a lead, or even a run.

For the second time this week, White Sox starter Chris Sale stifled the Angels' offense. On Sunday in Chicago, the left-hander took a perfect game into the seventh and limited the Angels to just one hit as he threw a shutout.

On Friday, it was more of the same.

Sale threw 7 2/3 innings, limiting the Angels to three hits while striking out 12 -- his fifth career game with at least 10 strikeouts.

"He pitched a good game," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We haven't gotten anything off him in the two games we've seen him this year. He obviously has good movement, throws the ball hard. Didn't throw as many changeups tonight as he did in Chicago, but in the few opportunities we had, he made the pitches and got out of it."

Against the Angels this week, the left-hander totaled 16 2/3 shutout innings with 19 strikeouts and four hits.

"It's not easy going back-to-back against the same team, especially consecutive starts," Scioscia said. "Sale obviously did a great job, CJ did a terrific job also."

While Sale was great, Wilson was very good.

"You know with us facing C.J. tonight, we knew we probably are not going to score a lot of runs," White Sox first baseman Adam Dunn said. "A low-scoring game. Two really, really competitive, dominant pitchers in the league going after it."

The Angels' left-hander scattered six hits over seven innings of work, but gave up a run in the first and another in the seventh on a night where the margin for error was seemingly less than none.

After retiring the first two batters with relative ease, Wilson had Alex Rios down 0-2, but Rios hit an 89-mph cutter over the left-center-field wall..

"It was a ball," Wilson said. "It's like the second home run I've given up this year on a ball, which is really frustrating. But, if you don't execute your pitch, you don't have anybody to blame but yourself and that's what happened out there. The ball was up, but it wasn't in and he hit it over the fence, so 1-0."

In the seventh, Dayan Viciedo singled and scored on Conor Gillaspie's single to center.

Not only were the Angels shut out, but the club never really presented a scoring threat in the process.

Only two runners reached second base -- Mike Trout stole second in the first and Mark Trumbo doubled in the fourth -- as hitters were flailing at offspeed pitches and when the Angels were able to hit a ball hard, it almost always found a glove.

Garrett Richards gave up a home run to Adam Dunn in the ninth for the final tally.