CLEVELAND — By the time Alek Manoah took the mound, there was nothing left for him to do but consider it an audition.
The Angels’ plan of having Manoah pitch behind an opener failed, as the relievers who preceded him gave up all of the runs in a 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.
Once Manoah finally took the mound in the fourth inning, he worked five scoreless innings, throwing 91 pitches. It was his first extended opportunity to pitch in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery nearly two years ago. He had dipped his toe in the water with one inning on Friday night in Toronto.
This time the Angels planned before the game for Manoah to be the “bulk” pitcher, which would give him the chance to go at least once through the Cleveland order to show what he could do.
With the scoreboard as a judge, Manoah was effective. However, there were also some elements of his performance that raised questions.
Before he underwent surgery, his fastball was 92-94 mph. Early in spring training, he approached that, but it was short-lived. Although he averaged 92 with his fastball on Friday in his one inning in Toronto, on Monday night his four-seamer averaged 88 mph and his sinker averaged 89.
Manoah also had traffic throughout his outing, with five walks. He gave up two hits. Two of the outs were also hard-hit balls, including a 106 mph lineout.
Now, the question is what the Angels are going to do the next time this “hole” comes up in their rotation. They’ve been struggling with one spot all season. Ryan Johnson left the rotation with an illness in early April, and by the time Walbert Ureña showed he could be a capable starter the Angels lost Yusei Kikuchi to a shoulder injury.
The Angels tried right-hander George Klassen twice and left-hander Sam Aldegheri once. This was the second time they tried a bullpen game, although this time they had a predetermined pitcher they hoped would get most of the outs, in Manoah.
The next time the Angels need a fifth starter will be on Sunday, the finale of a three-game series against the Dodgers. They could give the ball to Manoah again.
They could also bring Johnson back for that one. He threw 78 pitches for Triple-A Salt Lake over the weekend. Right-hander Caden Dana, Klassen and Aldegheri could all be options for that game.
It’s unlikely, but the Angels even could activate right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. He’s pitched in two minor league games, including a 94-pitch outing on Sunday.
It’s also possible the Angels could have Ureña pitch on Sunday against the Dodgers, pushing back the decision a day or two.
Whatever they do, it couldn’t work out worse than Monday’s game.
They gave the ball to left-hander Brent Suter as the opener, hoping he could get through two or three innings against the lefty-loaded Guardians lineup.
Suter worked a clean first and he was an out away from completing the second when he walked Travis Bazanna, with mostly noncompetitive pitches. That loaded the bases, prompting the Angels to bring in Fermin to try to escape. Fermin threw a good 0-and-2 slider about six inches off the ground, but Brayan Rocchio reached down and flicked it into right field, for a two-run single.
Fermin came back to the mound in the third, and he couldn’t find the plate. He walked the bases loaded. Yates entered and issued another walk, followed by a single and a double, as the Guardians took a 7-0 lead.
More to come on this story.