Giolito's spirited effort 'cursed' again in pivotal third frame 

ARLINGTON -- Things have not been going well for the Angels in the month of August.

Following Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field -- the Halos’ fourth loss in five games -- the Angels are 3-11 since the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline.

Even after going all-in to acquire sluggers C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk from the Rockies, as well as starting pitcher Lucas Giolito from the White Sox, consistency continues to elude the Angels, especially on offense.

“[We have to] score more runs,” manager Phil Nevin said. “That’s the best way I can say it. We’re taking swings and hitting [the ball] at people. We may get baserunners on, but then one more swing will take us out of it. We’re just not mounting anything together.”

Although Nevin noted that the recent competition has been stiff, he was not willing to let that be an excuse for the team’s struggles.

“We’ve faced some tough pitchers,” Nevin said. “But we’ve got to be able to beat the good ones, too.”

One day after an abysmal one-hit, 12-strikeout showing in the series opener, the Angels’ offense was bottled up once more – having been outscored 19-3 in the first two games of this three-game set against the American League West leaders.

After being kept at bay by Max Scherzer on Monday, another Deadline addition for the Rangers, Jordan Montgomery, matched a season-high nine strikeouts through six innings of one-run ball.

So far this month, no team in the Majors sports a lower batting average (.204), on-base percentage (.246) or OPS (.585) than the Angels. Over that same stretch, they have logged the second-fewest hits (93) in the American League -- five more than the Athletics.

While a dip in production is expected without the services of three-time American League MVP Mike Trout, who’s been sidelined the past six weeks with a fractured left wrist, the Angels simply cannot afford for the offense to continue at this pace.

The Halos haven’t fared much better in the pitching department this month, though Giolito was a bright spot in his fourth start for the Angels.

The hard-throwing right-hander, who tossed a season-high 110 pitches through six innings, surrendered four runs on seven hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts. Despite the loss, Nevin was impressed with Giolito’s performance.

“He threw the ball well other than the [three-run] third inning,” Nevin said. “That’s a really good lineup over there that he kept down for the other five innings.”

Giolito also mentioned the troublesome third inning as a turning point in the game.

“It’s almost like the third inning is cursed or something,” said Giolito, who also yielded three runs in the third inning of an Aug. 8 win against the Giants. “My sequencing could have been better. I just need to execute better.

“I’m finding that as the game gets going, my stuff is getting better and I’m executing better. So, it seems like I come out pretty strong, and then in the middle it gets a bit iffy, and then I finish strong. So, I think it’s about time I put it together through a whole start and then build off of that.”

Giolito, a California native, is now 1-3 with 19 strikeouts in four outings with the Angels since being acquired with right-hander Reynaldo López from the White Sox for catcher Edgar Quero and left-hander Ky Bush on July 26.

Despite his team dropping to eight games back of an AL Wild Card spot, Giolito believes improved execution could turn the Halos’ fortunes in the playoff chase.

“Baseball is a very tough sport,” Giolito said. “It’s a game of failure. It’s unfortunate how things have played out [recently], but at the same time, I know that everybody on this team is putting in their best effort. It just hasn’t worked out well.

“So, to turn things around, we’re going to have to play really, really good baseball. That’s all we can do.”