Bourn Caps Six Run Comeback As Indians Rally Past Angels 6-5
CLEVELAND (AP) — Angels right-hander Jerome Williams has gone two months without a win.
In this case, though, Los Angeles' bullpen deserves to share the blame.
Michael Bourn's seventh-inning RBI single off reliever Nick Maronde capped a six-run comeback and the Cleveland Indians stunned the Angels 6-5 on Sunday.
Williams struck out a season-high seven and allowed four runs in 5 2-3 innings, but was reduced to a no-decision when J.C. Gutierrez (0-3) and Maronde allowed the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh.
It was the 11th time this season that Los Angeles has held at least a three-run lead, but lost the game.
"That's difficult and it's frustrating, but I put this loss on myself," said Williams, whose last victory came on June 12 at Baltimore.
"If I hadn't let Cleveland back in the game, we wouldn't have been in that situation. The guys that came in after me tried to do their job, but didn't get it done. That's just baseball."
The Angels jumped out to a 5-0 lead against Indians right-hander Justin Masterson.
Mike Trout drove in two runs with a single in the second, while Josh Hamilton and Kole Calhoun added RBI hits. Mark Trumbo also drove in a run on a fielder's choice for Los Angeles, which was seeking its first three-game sweep in Cleveland since Sept. 3-5, 2004.
Instead, the Angels suffered their fourth loss after leading by five-plus runs in 2013, tying Colorado and Tampa Bay for the most in the majors.
"If we're going to have success, we have to hold leads," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It does point to a weakness on our ballclub."
Williams was working on a one-hit shutout with two outs in the sixth when the Indians' offense came to life.
Bourn singled and Nick Swisher followed with an opposite field home run to cut Los Angeles' lead to 5-2. Jason Kipnis walked, which set the stage for Mike Aviles' two-run homer that chased Williams from the mound.
"Jerome came out of the gates today, man," Swisher said. "He was putting it to us until we pulled together."
Gutierrez entered to start the seventh and gave up a leadoff homer to Carlos Santana that tied the game. After Lonnie Chisenhall walked and Drew Stubbs singled, Scioscia brought in Maronde to face Bourn with one out.
Maronde only threw one pitch, which Bourn lined into left field to score Chisenhall and give Cleveland a 6-5 advantage. Kevin Jepsen entered and got the Angels out of the inning.
Williams remained winless in his past 10 starts at 0-6 with a 7.35 ERA.
"With two outs in the sixth, Jerome just got fuzzy," Scioscia said. "Up until that point, he was in total command. He showed so many good things out there today, even with the way things ended, I thought he pitched a strong game."
Matt Albers (3-1) earned the win with 1 2-3 innings of perfect relief, while Chris Perez tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save. Four Indians relievers combined to throw 4 2-3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing Cleveland to salvage one win in its seven-game homestand.
Los Angeles, which was 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position, only had one hit after the fourth inning. Trout singled in the eighth off Joe Smith for his second hit of the game.
Second baseman Grant Green went 2 for 3 and scored twice for the Angels, who are 5-11 since July 26.
"We scored five runs and had easy RBI situations that could have expanded the lead," Scioscia said. "This was an odd series because we didn't drive the ball at all, but we got leads. Up until today, we were able to hold them."
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