Bats silenced again on 'one of those nights'

MIAMI -- On Tuesday afternoon, his 28th birthday, Shohei Ohtani brought an indelible spark to loanDepot park. His stardom, as well as that of Mike Trout, led fans to swarm around the Angels’ dugout during batting practice prior to the first game of the two-game set in Miami.

Though it was his day, it wasn’t Ohtani’s night. That will come on Wednesday, when he takes the mound in his first career start vs. the Marlins. On Tuesday, L.A.’s star hitter and ace was kept quiet vs. Miami, as was the rest of the Angels’ lineup in the 2-1 loss.

Instead, on Tuesday it was Noah Syndergaard’s turn to shine. Though he received little run or hit support over five innings (the Halos' sole run crossed once he was out of the game), Syndergaard recorded eight strikeouts, a new season high and the most he's had with the Angels. The righty, who has been working a slide step as part of his delivery, was successful in keeping the Marlins off the bases. He allowed just five hits and one stolen base, when Jesús Aguilar stole second for the first time in his career in the first inning.

Because Syndergaard is a heavy sink and ground-ball pitcher, it’s easier for teams to run on him and string together hits. Going up against a squad like the Marlins, who boast both speed and skill on the bases, it was all the more important for Syndergaard to have that solid “dismount” on the mound. Miami’s sole two runs were on solo homers, proof that between Syndergaard and the Angels’ defense, something was working.

“[Syndergaard’s a] guy that has command and is able to throw strikes when he needs to,” acting manager Bill Haselman said postgame. “[He] gave up the home run there -- that's just a slider that he just didn't get down. But he competes. He competes every time out. I feel like we have a really good chance of winning with him."

Tuesday’s opener, the first of two games in Miami, wasn’t a win, though. In fact, it marked the fourth consecutive game the Angels’ bats were quieted. After striking out 48 times in the first series of their three-city road trip, a three-game set in Houston, Los Angeles continued to face All-Star quality pitching in the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and struck out an additional 11 times (10 times vs. Alcantara).

It doesn’t help that Trout has been struggling. Including Tuesday, Trout is 1-for-17, including an 0-for-16 patch with shades of his 0-for-26 stretch earlier this season. (He legged out a single to lead off the top of the seventh inning to ensure the stretch wouldn’t be any longer.)

Alcantara had Trout’s number from the start. Trout, who had a 35.7% whiff rate on fastballs in June, saw 18 pitches from Alcantara. Of those 18, only four were offspeed offerings, and the majority were Alcantara’s solid four-seam fastball. Trout's struggles vs. the heater have been a big reason he's struck out 11 times in his past four games, the most the outfielder has struck out over a four-game period in his career.

“You have to get a good pitch to hit,” Trout said. “[Alcantara’s] got good stuff, some of the best I've seen. … When he throws 100 [mph] and he's got a bunch of secondary pitches that he can put them where it's at … I talked to a lot of guys around the league, and [Alcantara’s] up there with good stuff.”

The sentiment that Alcantara was near-impossible to hit rang true for almost the entirety of the Angels’ lineup. Until a two-out single from Luis Rengifo in the top of the fifth inning, Los Angeles was on the wrong end of a perfect outing by Alcantara, who threw eight scoreless innings on the night.

Only two more hits came for the Angels: that single from Trout, and a pinch-hit knock from Michael Stefanic in the ninth -- his first career Major League hit. Stefanic came around to score on a bases-loaded sac fly from Taylor Ward for the Angels’ lone run.

“It’s just one of those nights where we ran into a tough pitcher,” Trout said. “We had a good chance at the end and just fell short.”