ANAHEIM — After back-to-back victories in which the Angels showed how they can play at their best, they showed how they have played for most of the season.
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A collection of walks, errors and strikeouts in the clutch added up to a 7-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
The Angels (58-94) had a chance at their second sweep of the season, which would have been their first since May, but they played one of their worst games in weeks. Even though they’ve still been losing more than they’ve won, the pitching has mostly been good enough to keep them close. This was their most lopsided loss since Aug. 9.
Starter Yusei Kikuchi did not have it. He walked five and was charged with five runs in 4⅓ innings.
The first play of the game was a line drive that skipped past shortstop Zach Neto’s backhand attempt. It was ruled a hit, but it was a play that Neto has made plenty of times. Neto was charged with an error when he misplayed an easier grounder three innings later.
The Mariners scored two runs in the first inning, with Kikuchi throwing 37 pitches. Kikuchi settled down for a few innings, but in the fifth he issued two more walks, which opened the door for another three runs.
That inning also included a throwing error from first baseman Vaughn Grissom. He made a diving stop with the bases loaded, but his throw to second skipped into left field, the Angels’ second error of the game.
Kikuchi’s night ended there. In five starts since he’s been back from the injured list, Kikuchi has a 4.10 ERA. His previous three starts had ranged from good to passable, but this was his worst outing of the five.
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His performance doesn’t mean much for the 2026 Angels, but it certainly impacts the way the Angels look at him for their 2027 rotation. Kikuchi, 35, is signed for one more year at $21 million.
Once he was out of the game on Wednesday, the Angels brought in Sammy Peralta for mop-up duty. He gave up two more runs.
Just before the deficit grew against Peralta, the Angels had a chance to get back in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, they loaded the bases with one out. Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas struck out Josh Lowe on Christian Moore on three pitches each, extinguishing the threat.
Those were two of the Angels’ 11 strikeouts.
One of them was Neto’s 200th strikeout of the season, as he became the first player in Angels history to reach that dubious figure.
The milestone strikeout and the defensive problems spoiled a night for Neto in which he reached base four times. He had two hits and a walk, and he was hit by a pitch.
Rookies Denzer Guzman (four hits) and Moisés Ballesteros (two hits and a walk) also had positive performances at the plate, but the Angels went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 runners.
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More to come on this story.