Rare rough start for Dylan Bundy sends Angels to another loss
Justin Upton #10 of the Los Angeles Angels is welcomed into the dugout after hitting a home rung against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Jo Adell #59 of the Los Angeles Angels catches a fly ball in right field hit by Daulton Varsho #12 of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
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Max Stassi #33 of the Los Angeles Angels watches as David Peralta #6 of the Arizona Diamondbacks hits a home run in the seventh inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Dylan Bundy #37 of the Los Angeles Angels pitches in the first innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Josh Rojas #10 of the Arizona Diamondbacks stands on the warning track while Los Angeles Angels players in the bullpen try to catch a home run ball hit by Justin Upton #10 of the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Stefan Crichton throws during the ninth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout reacts after flying out to Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Kole Calhoun during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Los Angeles Angels’ Justin Upton, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Anthony Rendon, left, and Taylor Ward during the fifth inning of the team’s baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Albert Pujols #5 of the Los Angeles Angels breaks his bat on a pitch by Taylor Clarke #45 of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Justin Upton #10 of the Los Angeles Angels congratulates Max Stassi #33 on his home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Angels’ Jared Walsh, right, avoids a tag by Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, advancing on a passed ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Jared Walsh #25 of the Los Angeles Angels rounds third base after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Caleb Smith #31 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Stephen Vogt #21 of the Arizona Diamondbacks stands buy as Justin Upton #10 of the Los Angeles Angels congratulates Max Stassi #33 on his home run in the second inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Albert Pujols #5 of the Los Angeles Angels breaks his bat on a pitch by Taylor Clarke #45 of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Angels sits in the dug out in the first inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 16, 2020 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM — Dylan Bundy’s breakout season hit a speed bump.
Bundy, the most pleasant surprise on the Angels roster in this forgettable season, tossed a clunker in a 9-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Bundy brought a 2.48 ERA into the game, having allowed more than two earned runs in just two starts, and only once allowing as many as four.
But he gave up that many in the second inning alone on Wednesday, failing to retire any of the first six hitters of the inning.
Bundy was charged with two more runs after he left in the third inning, ending his worst start of the season.
It put the Angels in a hole they could not escape, as they lost for the second straight night to the last-place Diamondbacks. The Angels missed a chance to pick up ground on the Houston Astros, remaining 4 1/2 games back with just 10 games to go.
“It looks dire, it looks impossible,” Manager Joe Maddon said before the game, “but you never quit. You don’t give up until you’re mathematically told you have to. There’s no other option.”
The Angels had hoped that sending their best starter to the mound would be the ticket to a victory, but it didn’t work out.
Bundy pitched a perfect first, but in the second he gave up four singles and two walks to the first six hitters. Two more runs got tacked on to his line when reliever Hoby Milner issued a walk and gave up an infield single.
The Angels hung around in the game thanks to a few homers.
Max Stassi hit a two-run shot to cut the lead in half after Bundy gave up four.
Sizzling Jared Walsh then hit a solo homer in the fifth, his sixth homer in his last seven games. Walsh also had a single, his sixth straight multi-hit game. He is the first Angels player to have multiple hits in six straight games since Erick Aybar in 2014.
Justin Upton cut the deficit to 6-4 with a homer in the sixth. Upton also continues to climb out of his month-long slump. Upton is hitting .345 with five homers in his last 16 games.
Just when the Angels got back within striking distance, Patrick Sandoval gave up a two-run homer to Kole Calhoun and a solo blast to David Peralta in the seventh.
It was Sandoval’s first appearance since being recalled from Long Beach. Before the homers, he had pitched three scoreless innings.
