Ohtani lifts off before it all crashes down

HOUSTON -- It was just over a month ago when the Angels beat the Rangers on May 24 and trailed the Astros by only one game in the American League West.

But the Angels have imploded since then and with their 8-1 loss to the Astros in the series opener at Minute Maid Park on Friday, they now trail Houston by a season-high 13 1/2 games in the division.

It was the kind of loss that exemplified just how much farther the Angels have to go to be on the Astros’ level. But acting manager Ray Montgomery said the Halos have to stay positive, as they are five games out of an AL Wild Card spot with 83 games left to play.

"We still have plenty of season left to make a run at this thing,” Montgomery said. “I don't think anybody here has any other thoughts. We're trying to stay within striking distance and keep our guys motivated and on track."

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani connected on a towering solo homer in the first inning off right-hander Cristian Javier for his 18th blast of the year, but it was the lone highlight for the Angels against Javier. He allowed just that one hit and struck out 14 over seven dominant innings. The only other hit the Angels had came on a bloop single from Luis Rengifo off reliever Bryan Abreu in the eighth.

Right-hander Michael Lorenzen continued his recent struggles, as he lasted just three innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and two walks. Lorenzen had a 3.19 ERA through his first eight starts but has posted an 8.61 ERA in his five starts since then for a 4.94 ERA in 13 starts this year.

"I'm not going through it because I'm not trying, but trying isn't good enough in this league -- you have to get results,” said a visibly frustrated Lorenzen. “You have to get the job done and give your team a chance to win, but I'm not doing that. I want to pull my hair out right now. I'm going crazy. I just have to keep working and trust the process."

He found himself in trouble throughout the outing, including the first inning, when he walked Jose Altuve and allowed a one-out single to Kyle Tucker. But he got Alex Bregman to ground into an inning-ending double play to escape trouble.

Lorenzen wasn’t as fortunate in the second, when he served up a leadoff blast to Yuli Gurriel on a 1-2 sinker. Just two batters later, he surrendered a solo shot to Jake Meyers on a 1-2 fastball.

It unraveled in the third, as the Astros scored six runs in the inning to essentially put the game away early. Lorenzen wasn’t helped by an error from third baseman Tyler Wade to open the inning, but he allowed it to snowball from there. He gave up plenty of hard contact in the inning, including an RBI double to J.J. Matijevic, a two-run single to Meyers and a two-run homer to Chas McCormick.

It marked the second straight start of just three innings for Lorenzen, who had pitched mostly in relief with the Reds for the last six years before converting to starting this year. He's at 71 innings this year and his previous high over the last six years was 83 1/3 frames in 2019.

Lorenzen, however, said he’s not dealing with any fatigue but is simply going through a slump on the mound, which is something he said he’s dealt with in every season of his career.

"I go through this every year,” Lorenzen said. “You just try to figure out how to make it not last as long. I literally go through this every year and it drives me crazy. The stuff is the same. The velo is the same. I go through ruts like this, and you’ve just got to trust the process. For some reason, the results get better."

But with the Angels continuing to fade, Lorenzen knows he has to figure it out in a hurry. The right-hander said things usually get naturally better for him, but he doesn’t know what he needs to do to turn it around.

"It just all comes at once, and then it goes away at once,” Lorenzen said. “If I had an explanation, I'd probably be making a lot of money coaching. But I just don’t have it. I have good stuff. Some days they hit it, some days they don’t. It drives me nuts.”