Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo dives back ahead of the tag by Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Isaac Paredes on a pick-off attempt during the first inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Yu Chang dives but can’t reach a single hit by the Angels’ Luis Rengifo during the first inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Angels third baseman Luis Rengifo commits a throwing error on an infield single by the Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena during the first inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels interim manager Phil Nevin, third from right, watches as an Angels trainer checks on third baseman Luis Rengifo after he was involved in a collision with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena during the first inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels second baseman David Fletcher turns a double play during the third inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ David Peralta celebrates with first base coach Chris Prieto after his single off of Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson during the fourth inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Mike Trout connects for an RBI single off of Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs during the fifth inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Andrew Velazquez scores in front of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia on an RBI single by Mike Trout during the fifth inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Andrew Velazquez scores in front of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia on an RBI single by Mike Trout during the fifth inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Andrew Velazquez returns to the dugout after scoring during the fifth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels starting pitcher Tucker Davidson flips a new baseball as the Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena circles the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena reacts after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena, left, celebrates with teammate David Peralta after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St Petersburg, Fla. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani strikes out as a pinch-hitter during the sixth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Angels struck out 12 times in the 2-1 loss. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani strikes out as a pinch-hitter during the sixth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Angels struck out 12 times in the 2-1 loss. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani strikes out as a pinch-hitter during the sixth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Angels struck out 12 times in the 2-1 loss. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani strikes out as a pinch-hitter during the sixth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Angels struck out 12 times in the 2-1 loss. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena bats during the seventh inning of their game against the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Angels relief pitcher Andrew Wantz throws to the plate during the eighth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong, right, celebrates with catcher Francisco Mejia after the final out of their 2-1 victory over the Angels on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena, center, high-fives teammates after they defeated the Angels, 2-1, on Monday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the past three months, the Angels’ hitters have ranged from cold to frozen solid, with only a few brief moments of productivity.
Lately, they’ve been at their worst again, including a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
The Angels have now scored five runs in the first four games of this trip, squeaking out one victory when Patrick Sandoval pitched a 1-0 shutout on Friday.
“They’re doing all their work,” Manager Phil Nevin said of the Angels’ struggling hitters. “The hitting (coaches) are doing all they can with everybody. They pitched us well tonight, as well. These guys are really good at game-planning and pitching to guys. We had a couple of matchups we liked and just didn’t our way.”
It’s been an issue for the Angels for the past three months. They are hitting a major-league worst .213 since May 25.
On Monday, the Angels had six singles and four walks, but they struck out 12 times.
The Angels (52-70) didn’t score until they strung together three straight soft singles in the fifth inning. Andrew Velazquez reached on an infield hit on a dribbler in front of the plate, and then David Fletcher and Mike Trout both dropped bloopers into the outfield.
Trout’s hit was an oddity because somehow he hit the ball twice. Upon first contact, the ball spun toward the end of the bat and then a split second later the bat made contact again. Trout said he’d done it before, but only when he broke his bat.
“When I hit the ball, I knew something was weird,” Trout said. “I saw the flight of the ball. And the flight of the ball was weird too. Then I told (first base coach Damon Mashore), ‘I think I hit that twice.’ … I couldn’t tell you how I did it.”
The Angels had a chance in the sixth after two walks, prompting Nevin to call on Shohei Ohtani to pinch-hit. He struck out.
Fletcher singled with one out in the seventh, but Trout and Luis Rengifo each failed to drive him in. Jo Adell drew a one-out walk in the eighth. He stole second, so a single could have driven in the tying run, but Jared Walsh and Kurt Suzuki struck out.
Left-hander Tucker Davidson didn’t deserve a loss after successfully weaving around traffic throughout his outing. Davidson allowed six hits and three walks. But he got through all that with only two runs scoring, one on a Randy Arozarena homer in the fifth. The Angels turned double plays in the third and fourth to help Davidson minimize the damage.
“I didn’t have the best fastball command, but my offspeed kind of bailed me out,” Davidson said. “I threw some really good changeups. So I’m happy about that. Kind of had to pitch a little bit. I just take the positive out of that. I had to work through some stuff. Got some big outs.”
Davidson’s changeup is a new addition to his arsenal since the Angels acquired him from the Atlanta Braves earlier this month. After not throwing it at all in his first Angels start and then throwing seven in his second start, Davidson threw the pitch 13 times on Monday night.
Davidson gave up a single and got a double play on the changeup. The Rays whiffed on one of their five swings at the pitch.
Three starts into his Angels career, Davidson has allowed 10 runs in 15 innings. Four of the runs scored on one swing in his first start against the Seattle Mariners.
“From what we saw from the first outing and we’ve seen on film before to where he is at this point, I think (pitching coach Matt Wise) and (bullpen coach Dom Chiti) have done a great job with him, working on some of his different shapes and deliveries,” Nevin said. “He looks like a guy that’s got a chance to be a pretty good starter in the big leagues.”
