Defensive highs and lows showcase another Angels' weakness in series loss to Orioles

Throughout the young season, the Angels' struggles in the rotation, in the bullpen, and up and down the lineup have been well documented. After a hot couple of weeks to start the season, the club's prolonged downturn has highlighted just how dire some of those issues are.

However, after taking two out of three against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels went into Mother's Day with a chance to take their second series in a row, matching up against the struggling Baltimore Orioles in what would be the series' rubber game, and an under-discussed deficiency reared it's ugly head.

Not only have the Angels struggled to hit and pitch on all levels, they've also struggled to field the baseball. Through May 11, the club ranked 27th in the league in defensive runs saved with -16. Outs above average doesn't like the Halos' performance either, with the team posting a -5 mark which ranks 20th in the league.

For a manager with a reputation for teaching the fundamentals in the field, Ron Washington certainly doesn't come off looking great, despite the reported intensity of the drills he runs.

The Angels' defensive highs and lows were on full display in Sunday's loss to the Baltimore Orioles

Some of the biggest culprits of the Angels' shoddy defense rank among the absolute worst in the league this season. Luis Rengifo's -7 DRS is the second worst in all of baseball. Nolan Schanuel also ranks at the bottom with -6 DRS, making it laughable that a position change to the outfield was ever seriously considered for the young first baseman.

On Sunday, the Angels defeated themselves with their play in the field by a score of 7-3. Tyler Anderson should have worked his way out of trouble in the first after surrendering a leadoff double, however, Adley Rutschman's routine fly ball to left field sailed way over Taylor Ward's head, going in the books as an RBI triple to put the Orioles up 1-0 as Ward lost the ball in the sun.

The sixth inning is where things really unraveled with Connor Brogdon on the mound. The 30-year-old reliever's combination of a throwing error on a pickoff attempt followed by a wild pitch scored a run, leading things to unravel from there. The inning would end with a Gunnar Henderson two-run homer to bring the score from 3-2 Orioles to start the inning, to 7-2 Orioles by the end of the frame.

One bright spot, however, was the performance of Kyren Paris in the field. The infielder-turned-outfielder tracked Henderson's home run ball back to the wall and made a leaping attempt to reel it in, though the moonshot fell just beyond his reach on the other side of the wall.

The following inning, however, Paris's thievery would not be denied. When Rutschman launched a fly ball to deep center field, Paris got on his horse and looked extremely comfortable despite his inexperience playing the outfield. He throttled down as he approached the wall, reached out to find it, and timed his jump perfectly to come down with the ball that otherwise would've squeaked over the top of the wall for another homer.

On the season, Paris has been the team's best defender, posting a total of five defensive runs saved, with two coming at second base and three more coming in the outfield. Zach Neto and Tim Anderson round out the positivity on the defensive front with DRS numbers of three and two, respectively.

Otherwise, the glove work has been extremely subpar this season, and Sunday's game was a microcosm of how the lack of defensive stability has cost the Angels games. For a team that can't consistently pitch or hit, playing poor defense on top is a recipe for yet another losing season, showcasing in yet another way how far off this team is from truly competing.

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