Angels' bullpen meltdown against Detroit Tigers underscores young stud's absence

The Angels desperately needed a win. All of the early-season good vibes from a hot start have evaporated over the last two-plus weeks as the season appears to be spiraling out of control. The club entered the May 1st game against the Detroit Tigers, returning home to Anaheim, looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

The recent losing streak has been emblematic of the larger issues with the team over the second half of April. The once-potent bats have gone silent, and the team's caveman approach to fixing the offense has only exacerbated the issue. The starting rotation has struggled to provide length or effectiveness, while the bullpen's underbelly has been exposed.

Closer Kenley Jansen has been perfect this year, going six for six in save opportunities and not allowing a single earned run over his eight appearances. The team has seldom called on the future Hall of Famer due to their inability to build and protect leads. His last three appearances were all separated by six-day layoffs, pitching on April 12th and April 18th before shutting the door against the Pittsburgh Pirates to record the Angels' last win on April 24th. He hasn't pitched since.

The Halos had prime opportunity to finally hang one in the win-column to open May against the red-hot Tigers, but the absence of a key piece to the bridge to Jansen once-again left the Angels to be exploited as the bullpen melted down to surrender eight runs in the final two innings, losing by a score of 10-4.

The Angels desperately need young flamethrower Ben Joyce back from the IL in order to right the ship

The Angels placed 24-year-old setup man Ben Joyce on the injured list back on April 12th. At the time of his injury, the club was 9-5. They've gone 3-13 since. In the absence of the young fireballer whose combination of a fastball that can top 105 miles per hour and a devastating "splinker" can confound hitters, the Halos have been forced to run through a revolving door of relievers.

Due to the offense's dormancy and some poor performances from the starting rotation, the motley cast of characters that have been brought up and down from Triple-A Salt Lake have pitched the lion's share of the relief innings over the past few weeks.

However, even when the more trusted relievers get into the game, the bullpen arms have struggled in the wake being moved up the leverage totem pole. The series opener against Detroit was a perfect example of that.

Yusei Kikuchi wasn't necessarily sharp, but he did enough to put the Halos in a position to win, allowing just two earned runs over five innings. Desperate to secure a victory, manager Ron Washington called upon lefty Brock Burke in the sixth, who has gone from a middle relief arm to a primary setup man.

Burke then gave way to Ryan Zeferjahn who has typically been the primary setup man to Jansen in Joyce's absence. He pitched a scoreless seventh, however, when he was brought back out for the eighth things began to unravel, and he was pulled after giving up a single to Gleyber Torres.

Here's where Joyce's absence became incredibly glaring, as Zeferjahn's replacement, Reid Detmers, came in just one night removed from serving up five earned runs without recording an out against the Seattle Mariners. The ice-cold lefty authored a repeat performance against Detroit, allowing the lead to evaporate by giving up four earned runs in addition to allowing the inherited runner to score while recording only a single out.

Jose Fermin, a recent minor league call up, was brought in to restore order, but by that point the damage had been done. Rookie lefty Garrett McDaniels allowed three more meaningless runs in the ninth to add insult to injury.

Despite entering the eighth with a two-run lead, Kenley Jansen was plastered to the bench out in the bullpen as the bridge to him collapsed yet again. Even with a healthy Joyce, this bullpen is proving that it lacks the requisite depth, but in his absence, it has been a catastrophe.

The Angels' are struggling on multiple fronts right now, but the sooner they get Joyce back the sooner the bullpen will be "fixed." At which point, the team can look to repairing the multitude of issues in the lineup and the rotation and perhaps prevent the bottom from falling out completely on the 2025 season.

First thing's first, however, the club needs Ben Joyce and his electric right arm back as soon as possible.

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