Chase Silseth continues pattern in Angels’ loss to Orioles

BALTIMORE — The Angels gave Chase Silseth the ball and hoped for the best.

They ended up with a 7-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, as Silseth could only deliver 10 outs and the middle relievers who followed were also ineffective.

Silseth was charged with four runs, and then the Orioles put the game away with three against Tucker Davidson and Andrew Wantz.

Silseth was making his first start of the season, filling the spot vacated when José Suarez was placed on the injured list. The spot will come up again on Monday night, the opener of a series against the Boston Red Sox in Anaheim.

Silseth had shown promise in a short trial as a high-leverage reliever, which seemed like it could be his best role because he’d also struggled to maintain his effectiveness once he got to 50 or 60 pitches in his starts.

Acknowledging the issue, Silseth dedicated himself to building more strength in his legs over the winter.

The Angels gave him an opportunity to show if it worked when they picked him to take Suarez’s place in the rotation.

The Angels chose Silseth over Davidson, who was the best of the sixth-starter candidates during spring training, because he had started a few times in April at Triple-A, while Davidson had been in the major league bullpen all season.

Manager Phil Nevin went into Tuesday’s game knowing there would be a short leash on Silseth.

Silseth threw 58 pitches in the first three innings. He allowed one run when he hung a splitter over the middle of the plate and Ryan O’Hearn hit it out.

In the fourth, Silseth allowed hits to three of the first four batters he faced, as two more runs scored. Davidson gave up a bloop double and then a broken-bat grounder, which knocked in another run to make it 4-1.

The Angels chipped away with single runs in the fifth and sixth to get within a run. In the bottom of the sixth, Davidson hit Adam Frazier with an 0-and-2 pitch. Ryan McKenna then smoked a line drive off Davidson’s foot. The ball bounced into left field for a double.

Wantz gave up a run on a sacrifice fly, and then he left a cutter over the middle of the plate and Ryan Mountcastle drilled a two-run homer.

More to come on this story.

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