WebFi Angels lose to Orioles, falling for 7th time in last 8 games – Press Enterprise

ANAHEIM — Manager Phil Nevin held a brief team meeting before the Angels’ 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.

Hours before the Angels lost for the seventh time in their last eight games, Nevin said he had no issue with the way his players were doing their work, even though the Angels (64-74) have dropped to a season-worst 10 games under .500 and have lost 23 of 31 since they were five games above .500 at the trade deadline.

“I’m not angry with these guys,” Nevin said before the game. “No reason to be angry with them. I’ve said it all along, they come in and they prepare and practice and play to win. That hasn’t changed for me.

“I’ve mentioned focus a couple of times, which with a young group with young players you have to stay on them about that part of it. There’s no part of this team that’s shown quit, shown lack of fire, a lack of intensity, a lack of anything.

“It’s just where we’re at right now. You’re going to win some. You’re going to lose some. We’ve lost a little more than we’ve won.”

On Monday, left-hander Kenny Rosenberg got a spot start because the Angels are currently down two starters. The Angels placed Lucas Giolito on waivers and he was claimed by the Cleveland Guardians, and Chase Silseth suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a throw.

Rosenberg got through six innings and he allowed only three runs, all of them in the third. He gave up five hits in the inning, and only two hits in the other five innings he pitched.

“Long third inning, right where they scored the three runs,” Rosenberg said. “But the first two in and the last three that kind of book ended that, I felt like I had a really good rhythm. … That’s what I do. It feels good to do that on a major league mound.”

Rosenberg is likely to get another start or two down the stretch because of the uncertainty about Silseth and because they are trying to avoid having their starters work on four days of rest, as they would do in a true five-man rotation.

“I thought he was great,” Nevin said of Rosenberg. “Did everything we asked. For him to go out and give us six like that … I thought we pitched very well against a good lineup.”

The Angels trailed 3-2 after Rosenberg was done, having scored on a Mickey Moniak RBI double in the second and a Randal Grichuk homer in the fourth.

The AL East-leading Orioles, who won for the 12th time in their past 16 games, put it away with Gunnar Henderson’s three-run homer against Gerardo Reyes in the seventh inning.

“Four of their runs come with two outs,” Nevin said. “We just had a hard time getting that third one.”

Brandon Drury hit his 20th home run of the season in the eighth for the Angels’ final run.

Shohei Ohtani missed only his third game of the season for the Angels, who scratched the two-way superstar about an hour before the first pitch after he strained his right oblique muscles during batting practice.

Angels rookie Nolan Schanuel reached base in his 13th consecutive game to begin his major league career when the 2023 draftee drew a leadoff walk.