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ANAHEIM>> Although the Angels are finally getting the kind of starting pitching they need, they are nonetheless slipping in the wild card race. Despite a fourth consecutive game in which the Angels starter gave up two runs or fewer in at least five iings, the Angels were losing, 5-2, to the Houston Astros in the ninth iing at press time on Thursday night. The Angels were in jeopardy of f...

RANGERS at ANGELS When: Today, 7 p.m. Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP BUD NORRIS (2-5, 4.25) vs. Rangers: 2-2, 4.33 ERA At Angel Stadium: 4-3, 1.79 ERA Hates to face: Shin-Soo Choo, 4 for 9 (.444), HR, 2B Loves to face: Mike Napoli, 3 for 19 (.158), 10 Ks RANGERS RHP NICK MARTINEZ (3-6, 5.40) vs. Angels: 2-3, 2.76 At Angel Stadium: 0-1, 2.61 Hates to face: Kole Cal...

ASTROS at ANGELS When:Wednesday, 7 p.m. Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West THE PITCHERS ANGELS LHP TYLER SKAGGS (1-5, 4.86) vs. Astros: 2-2, 3.38 ERA At Angel Stadium: 2-6, 5.09 ERA Hates to face: Jake Marisnick, 3 for 3, double, HR Loves to face: Cameron Maybin, 0 for 7 ASTROS RHP LANCE MCCULLERS (7-3, 3.97) vs. Angels: 3-1, 1.55 At Angel Stadium: 0-0, 1.50 Hates to face: Shane Robinson, 2 for 4, walk Loves to face: Andrelton Simmons, 2 for 11, 3 Ks Advertisement ...

ANAHEIM >> A pair of headphones engulfed Justin Verlander’s ears Tuesday afteoon. A giant computer monitor, maybe a foot in front his face, commanded his attention. Glance up a couple inches and Verlander could watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians on a television inside the Astros’ clubhouse, but with his first pitch a few hours away, his gaze stayed true. His uniform may ha...

SEATTLE — If the Angels hope to get to the postseason, they are going to have to reverse this trend with their starting pitchers. Ricky Nolasco provided the latest disappointing performance, allowing four runs in 3⅔ iings in the Angels’ 4-3 loss to the Seattle Marinerson Fridaynight. Angels starters have a 6.53 ERA in the last 20 games. The work of the bullpen and the offense has kept them fro...

OAKLAND >> This time, Garrett Richards walked off the mound alone, perhaps only disappointed at the hanging slider he’d just thrown. It was better than the last time he’d walked off the mound at the Oakland Coliseum, that time accompanied by trainer Eric Munson. Although no one knew it at the time, it would be the start of a five-month hiatus for the Angels’ ace because of biceps nerve irrit...

OAKLAND — Just as Albert Pujols’ bat is heating up, his legs are giving him trouble again. Pujols retued to Southe Califoia on Wednesday to be evaluated, according to General Manager Billy Eppler, who said a plan would be determined after the examination. Manager Mike Scioscia said he’s expecting Pujols to be able to play when the team retus to action Friday in Seattle. “He’s been playing ...

Garrett Richards has joined the Angels in Texas and could be activated within a few days, which would be a surprising acceleration of his rehab. General Manager Billy Eppler said Thursday night that the Angels simply wanted to have their medical and baseball staffs give Richards a full evaluation in person before deciding his next step. Eppler said it’s possible Richards could retu to Triple-A f...

RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Todd Hogan scouts Atlanta, among other places, for the Angels. He had been sending the home office rave reviews on an outfielder named Jahmai Jones. Now Ric Wilson, the scouting director, showed up at Wesleyan High for two games, to take a look. What happened next was the equivalent of spilling coffee all over the boss’ cellphone during the job interview. Almost. “The fir...

ANAHEIM >> C.J. Cron came to the plate in the eighth iing with one goal: Phoenix Suns tickets. With the Angels comfortably on their way to an 8-2 victory over the Oakland A’son Tuesdaynight, and Cron having one homer in the books, he could focus on making good on a challenge from teammate Mike Trout before the game. Trout, riding Cron a bit because he hadn’t hit a homer in 10 games, made...

ANAHEIM — Andrew Heaney’s brilliant performance in the Angels’ 3-1 victory over the Oakland A’s on Monday night could be summed up in two pitches, one at the begiing of his night and one at the end. With command of his breaking ball, which he demonstrated on the game’s first pitch, and the confidence in his health to unleash a 96 mph fastball in his final iing, Heaney aounced that he is back...

ANAHEIM >> The Angels seem to be intent on proving their resilience, over and over and over again. Within games and within the season, the Angels have had plenty of opportunities to show they can bounce back from bad iings and tough losses, and they are going to have to do so again. After overcoming a four-run deficit to take a lead, the Angels gave up three runs in the eighth iing in a ...

A’S at ANGELS When: Monday 7 p.m. TV: Fox Sports West Where: Angel Stadium THE PITCHERS ANGELS LHP ANDREW HEANEY (0-0, 8.10) vs. A’s: 1-1, 4.85 At Angel Stadium: 3-3, 4.29 Hates to face: None Loves to face: None A’S RHP DANIEL GOSSETT (3-6, 5.49) vs. Angels: First game At Angel Stadium: First game Hates to face: None Loves to face: None UPCOMING matchups Tuesday: Angels (RHP Troy Scribner, 2-1, 4....

ANAHEIM >> Mike Trout is now finding out how everyone else in the majors lives. Trout, seemingly immune to the slumps that define his sport, has gone hitless in his past 17 at-bats, the second longest such drought in his career. He took an 0 for 18 in August 2014, the year he won his first MVP, by the way. Since hitting homers in his first two at-bats last Saturday in Baltimore, Trout is 3 f...

ASTROS at ANGELS When: Friday, 7 p.m. Where: Angel Stadium TV: Fox Sports West THE PITCHERS ANGELS RHP PARKER BRIDWELL (7-1, 2.92) Vs. Astros: First game At Angel Stadium: 3-1, 3.73 Hates to face: None Loves to face: None ASTROS RHP COLLIN McHUGH (1-2, 4.01) Vs. Angels: 6-2, 2.55 At Angel Stadium: 2-2, 2.25 Hates to face: Albert Pujols, 7 for 22 (.314) Loves to face: C.J. Cron, 2 for 13 (.154) UPC...

ANAHEIM >> Needing a victory to salvage a split against a division rival, the Angels came up frustratingly empty on Thursday night. The Angels were shut down by Martin Perez for seven iings in a 3-0 loss to the Texas Rangers, despite having a steady flow of traffic on the bases against him. In four of Perez’s iings, the Angels had a leadoff hit. In the third, they started the iing with...

ANAHEIM >> Every baseball game is a like a nine-iing math problem, with a string of positives and negatives that all add up at the end to either a win or a loss. Some games are simple, with one or two performances so glaring that they overshadow everything else. And some games are like the Angels’ 7-5, 10-iing loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, one that left players in the los...

ANAHEIM >> When the week began, only 20 men had thrown more iings this season than Angels pitcher JC Ramirez. The score included veterans, All-Stars and a few “iings eaters.” Most were among the game’s most established starting pitchers. None was a rookie. Ramirez, 29, is not a rookie. But considering he’d thrown 126 1/3 iings at the major league level before this year, Ramirez wasn’t expected to be among the American League leaders in iings pitched (147 1/3). The Angels placed Ramirez on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Sunday with a right elbow strain. The severity of th...

ANAHEIM >> It took three men to extract a pigeon from the Angel Stadium baseball diamond Monday. Texas Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli coered the clumsy bird, which had spent a half-iing meandering around the right side of the infield, between himself and first base umpire Gary Cederstrom. Cederstrom then chased the pigeon slowly from fair territory toward the first-base dugout. Rangers manager Jeff Banister finally emerged, picked up the pigeon with his bare hands, and carried it back with him to the dugout, never to be seen again. It took one future Hall of Famer to beat the Ang...

BALTIMORE >> If the Angels’ offense can start slugging balls over the fence like this, maybe they can reach the postseason despite the continued stream of injured pitchers. The Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night, headlined by Mike Trout and Luis Valbuena each hitting two homers, would have been a textbook victory if not for one significant issue. JC Ramirez had to leave the game in the sixth iing with what was initially diagnosed as forearm irritation. He is scheduled for an MRI exam on Monday. Ramirez said he felt tightness from his pregame warmups, and ...