SEATTLE — The Angels came to Pacific Northwest hoping to get things going offensively and begin a push toward respectability with the All-Star break on the horizon.
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They left with a gut-punch of a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners that finished off a three-game series sweep in futile fashion.
The Angels finished with two singles. They didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning. They only saw two runners advance to second base in the entire game. They struck out 10 times.
And despite the fact that starter Walbert Ureña continued an impressive rookie season, his mounting pitch count and some wildness caught up to him just enough to let the Mariners push across the only run they needed.
That came in the bottom of the sixth inning, which Ureña entered in a rare duel of no-hitters with Seattle starter Bryce Miller.
Ureña had escaped a first inning in which he walked a batter, hit a batter, and saw first baseman Nolan Schanuel throw a would-be fielder’s choice ball to shortstop off the back of the helmet of Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez for an error. But he did not give up a hit.
And Miller would have had a perfect game going at that point if not for fourth-inning error that came when third baseman J.P. Crawford fielded a Denzer Guzman grounder and threw the ball over the head of first baseman Josh Naylor.
Ureña, who brought a 3.14 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 71⅔ innings into the game, finally allowed a hit on a bloop double by Crawford. Two batters later, Ureña walked Dominic Canzone, and he followed that with another free pass to Randy Arozarena that loaded the bases.
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He struck out Naylor, but his 107th and final pitch of the game was a ball that walked Cal Raleigh and scored the go-ahead run. Ureña finished with six strikeouts and four walks in 5⅔ innings of one-hit ball. He also hit two batters.
Meanwhile, Miller was as dominant as any pitcher the Angels (36-52) have faced all season.
He struck out Guzman to end the first inning and then fanned the next four batters. He didn’t allow a hit until Schanuel blooped one into center field to lead off the seventh, and after Guzman followed with a fly ball single of his own, Miller got the next three hitters in order to finish his night.
Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect eighth, and in the ninth, the Angels again couldn’t capitalize on opportunities.
Muñoz walked leadoff hitter Zach Neto on four pitches, but Neto was then picked off. And even though Schanuel and Soler singled, a Wade Meckler groundout ended it.
Angels relievers Samy Natera Jr. and Sam Bachman combined to allow one hit while striking out four in 2⅓ innings.
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More to come on this story.