The Los Angeles Angels are stuck in a frustrating cycle, and their 5-1 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday was a textbook example of what's been going wrong. Mark Vientos was the star of the show for the Mets, crushing a pair of two-run homers to power New York to the series win.

The Angels actually got off to a promising start. Zach Neto and Mike Trout both walked, and Jorge Soler knocked in Neto with an RBI single. It looked like they might chase Mets starter Clay Holmes early after a 27-pitch first inning. But the bats went silent after that, managing just five more singles the rest of the way.

Jack Kochanowicz turned in another solid start despite struggling with his breaking pitches. He kept the Mets off balance through traffic, and the game stayed tight until Vientos launched his first homer to make it 2-1 in the sixth. Kochanowicz gutted through 6⅓ innings, allowing just those two runs.

Then came the bullpen—and that's where things get ugly for the Halos these days. Tayler Saucedo came on to finish the seventh but ran into trouble in the eighth after hitting Brett Baty with a pitch. Nick Sandlin took over and the floodgates opened: a run-scoring double from Carson Benge, then Vientos' second two-run blast to put the game away.

Nolan Schanuel had a pair of hits, and Trout reached base twice with a hit and a walk, but there weren't many bright spots beyond that. Mets pitchers racked up 11 strikeouts, and Holmes earned the win.

The Angels have now lost 12 of their last 14 games, dropping back to the bottom of the AL West after a promising start. They'll host the scrappy Chicago White Sox for a three-game set starting tomorrow, with Jose Soriano on the mound. But given the state of the bullpen, even that feels far from a sure thing.