The Los Angeles Angels came into Tuesday night with a chance to force a rubber match against the Cleveland Guardians, but once again, the bats went quiet. Falling 3-2 at Progressive Field, the Halos dropped their second straight in the series and now face the very real threat of a sweep. With the loss, Los Angeles slips to 16-27 overall and a tough 8-17 on the road.
On the mound, right-hander Walbert Urena and the Angels' pitching staff delivered a solid performance, surrendering just two earned runs. But despite holding Cleveland to only four hits, the Guardians found a way to scratch across enough runs to win.
Cleveland struck first in the third inning when Angel Martinez launched the game's only extra-base hit—a solo home run to right field. Martinez nearly went deep again in the fifth, sending a long fly ball to the same part of the park, but Angels outfielder Jo Adell made a leaping grab at the wall to rob him of a second homer.
Even without a hit in the fifth, Urena still allowed a run. Daniel Schneemann led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, tagged to third on a flyout, and scored on a ground ball to first base. Urena exited after five strong innings, allowing just three hits. The 22-year-old fell to 1-4 on the season, but he has now pieced together three straight quality starts—a promising sign for a young arm finding his groove.
The Angels finally answered in the sixth. Oswald Peraza ripped a ground ball down the right-field line for his first career triple, and Jo Adell followed with a deep sacrifice fly to center, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Cleveland answered right back in the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Brayan Rocchio, but Los Angeles refused to go quietly. In the top of the eighth, second baseman Vaughn Grissom crushed his second home run of the season—a towering shot to center field—pulling the Angels within one at 3-2.
Unfortunately for the Halos, that's as close as they would get. Missed opportunities at the plate have become a recurring theme, and with the series slipping away, Los Angeles will need to find a spark quickly if they hope to avoid the sweep.