José Suarez allows five homers in shaky start for Angels in loss to Athletics

These are the games the Angels need to capitalize on in order to continue to contend in this division and this league in 2023.

José Suarez did not make the Angels’ first efforts against the Oakland Athletics in this homestand easy, putting the Angels in a 7-1 deficit they had to claw themselves out of. In the first three innings, he gave up five home runs. Suarez’s pitching did not affect the final outcome of the game. Jaime Barría allowed the A’s to tie and take the lead in the 9th and 10th innings, and the Angels went on to lose to the A’s 11-10 in the extra inning.

It is still reasonable to question how much patience the Angels have for Suarez as a starting pitcher this season. Before Monday’s game, manager Phil Nevin was asked if the Angels needed to start seeing results from Suarez.

“I’m not saying this is an ultimatum, this or that, start, at all, for him,” Nevin said. “Like we said, the stuff has been there… the results haven’t been.”

Coming off his last few starts, the matchup against the A’s, on paper, should have been Suarez’s welcome reprieve. The Angels have seen what a successful Suarez outing can be. Toward the end of last season, he started to look sharper and could pitch through the seventh inning of games.

This season so far he has not been able to pick up where he had left off the 2022 season. Monday, he managed to pitch his deepest into a game, five full innings. He also gave up seven runs on eight hits, walked two batters, struck out five, and ended his night with an earned-run average of 10.26.

The Angels are still overall confident in Suarez as a pitcher and Nevin reiterated that confidence while explaining what exactly Suarez has to improve on, before Monday’s game.

“He needs to locate better within the strike zone and he hasn’t done that,” Nevin said. “When he’s gotten outside the zone, he’s walked some guys, so the quality of strikes he’s throwing has to be better and he’ll get there. He’s too good. He worked too hard. And he’s so loved in that clubhouse.”

The Angels would lose more than they would gain if they designated Suarez for assignment — Suarez is out of options. At just 25 years old and with the potential he has shown in the past, there is plausible belief another team would pick him up. But based on his performances of late, he does not seem, at least for now, a good trade candidate.

Angels’ Mike Trout (27) high-fives designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) after they both scored off of a double hit by Anthony Rendon during the sixth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium on Monday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

The Angels could also move Suarez into the bullpen and shift Tucker Davidson (who has been a middle/bulk reliever so far this season) into the rotation — Davidson pitched 2.1 innings in relief after Suarez on Monday, scattering two hits and striking out three.

The Angels, unlike most MLB teams, need a six-person rotation, or at least a swing sixth pitcher that can slot into the rotation to ensure Shohei Ohtani can stick to his regular five days’ worth of rest — based on the schedule, the Angels don’t need a sixth starter every single turn through the rotation.

The A’s got out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first after Suarez gave up back to back solo home runs to Brent Rooker and Jesús Aguilar. It was the first time this season the A’s managed to hit back to back homers. In the second inning, after walking his leadoff batter and giving up a double to his next, he then gave up a three-run home run to Kevin Smith, Smith’s first home run of the season.

Suarez allowed Rooker and Aguilar to go back to back once more in the third. After that third inning, Nevin stopped Suarez at the top of the dugouts steps to chat with him. Suarez was able to get through his final two innings without giving up further runs.

The Angels chipped away at their deficit, which was as many as six runs at one point. In the fifth inning, Anthony Rendon, Chad Wallach and Zach Neto combined for five RBIs to tie the game. Brandon Drury’s RBI single in the seventh inning gave the Angels an 8-7 lead.