NEW YORK — Watching Albert Pujols hit his 535th home run to move within one of Mickey Mantle for 16th on the all-time list was a nice moment for the Los Angeles Angels.
It also was one of the few highlights for the inconsistent Angels following a lost weekend at Yankee Stadium that concluded with Sunday’s brisk 6-2 loss.
Pujols hit that home run in the first inning and the Angels had their two-run lead until a four-run fifth. Then they were unable to do much of anything else and wound up falling back under .500 (28-29) with their season-high fifth straight loss.
“We need to step up our game and play more consistent baseball if we’re going to reach our goal,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after his team’s first sweep in New York since Aug. 29-31, 1995.
Watching their pitchers give up fly-ball home runs into the lower rows of the stands is frustrating enough and compounding it is the fact that the Angels are not getting the wins, especially after nearly pulling off a stunning comeback Friday in a six-run ninth inning during an 8-7 defeat.
Since scoring those runs, the Angels were outscored 14-4 over the next 18 innings. During the last five games, Los Angeles is batting .221 (29-for-131) and pitching to a 7.27 ERA.
“We’re trying to get the offense going, get to .500 and stay hot,” catcher Chris Iannetta said. “Try to get the guys on the mound going the way they we’re for the majority of the games. The guys on the mound have been doing a really great job. This week’s been a little bit off. You’re going to have that over the course of the season but we need to put it together on the offense.”