CHICAGO — A short-handed Angels lineup did just what you might expect.
With Shohei Ohtani out with groin tightness and Anthony Rendon getting the day off, and with Mike Trout looking mortal, the Angels managed just two hits in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Monday afternoon.
Right-hander Dylan Cease struck out 11 Angels in seven innings, including three against Trout. Taylor Ward had the Angels’ only hit against Cease, a double into left-center in the fourth.
Their only other baserunner came in the sixth, when Tyler Wade was hit by a pitch. Kurt Suzuki had the Angels’ second hit, in the eighth, and he was stranded when Ohtani grounded out as a pinch-hitter.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval was victimized by poor support, from his hitters and one of his fielders.
Sandoval gave up three runs in six innings, including two in the first after left fielder Jo Adell allowed a seemingly catchable ball to drop. Luis Robert’s line drive landed just 34 feet away from Adell’s starting position, and Statcast calculated that Adell had a 90 percent chance to make the catch.
Instead, it bounced past him to the fence, allowing Robert to go to second and Tim Anderson, who had led off with a single, to go to third. Both ended up scoring and both runs were considered earned.
Adell’s defense has been an issue throughout his brief big league career. Later in the game, a ball deflected off his glove for a double. That play had a 65 percent catch probability. The Angels escaped the inning without that play costing them a run.
Sandoval bounced back nicely from the rough first inning. He gave up just one run over the next five innings.
Four starts into his season, Sandoval has a 1.29 ERA. He did not allow any earned runs in his first three starts.
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