Barria escapes jams but Angels spin wheels
Sunday was full of familiar sights for the Angels.
A young starter — this time, Jaime Barria — looking decent, but far from dominant.
A stellar opposing pitching staff — this time, Lance McCullers Jr. and the back end of the Houston Astros’ lethal bullpen — keeping a short-handed lineup quiet.
And manager Joe Maddon only able to compliment his team’s fight in the wake of another disappointing result — this time, a 3-1 loss in a series rubber match at Minute Maid Park.
“[The Astros] are a team that’s totally in the hunt right now, playing for something more than we are,” Maddon said.
“But we’re playing right with them.”
The Angels might have indeed hung with the American League West leaders this weekend, but they couldn’t claim the series either, unable to respond on Sunday after Kyle Tucker hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth.
The Angels are 70-73, playing out the string of a season that will once again end with them outside the playoff picture. The Astros improved to 83-59, reinforcing once again the gulf between themselves and their division rival.
Barria battled through a four-inning, one-run start Sunday, limiting the damage despite facing two bases-loaded jams.
It wasn’t until he left at the beginning of the fifth that Tucker put the Astros in front, hammering a firstpitch fastball from reliever José Quijada.
The Angels, whose lone run came on a Juan Lagares solo shot in the top of the fifth, couldn’t complete a comeback, finishing the day stranding six men on base and going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
“We did not move the baseball at the right time,” Maddon said. “But over these three games, I kind of liked the way we matched up with Houston in September.”
Marsh, Adell banged up
Jo Adell missed Sunday’s game with backside soreness resulting from hitting the wall while trying to make a catch the night before.
Brandon Marsh was battling soreness after fouling a ball hard off his right foot in the ninth inning.
Maddon was waiting to hear more from the training staff postgame, but sounded hopeful about the status of both players going into the upcoming series against the Chicago White Sox.