All-star closer picked the worst time to implode as Angels losing streak reaches seven

The Los Angeles Angels had three all-stars this season. Shohei Ohtani was the most obvious one, as he's the odds-on favorite for AL MVP and is clearly the best and most popular player in the game today. Mike Trout was another rather obvious one, as he was voted in as a starter despite being unable to play due to injury.

The Angels had to wait to see their third all-star be named a member of the team for a while, but Carlos Estevez got his deserved recognition. He was as dominant as anyone could've possibly expected, and without him, the Angels wouldn't have even been competitive for as long as they were.

Now, as meaningful baseball approached, Estevez along with the rest of this team has completely imploded. His second blown save in three appearances led to the Angels seventh straight loss.

Carlos Estevez implodes again as the LA Angels losing streak reaches seven games

All year long this team has lacked consistency. Outside of one stretch in early June, the Angels really haven't played clean baseball for weeks at a time. Especially when they face quality competition. One of the few players the Angels could rely on for some consistency was Carlos Estevez.

The Angels signed Estevez to be a closer for the first time this offseason, and it looked like an unbelievable signing for most of the season. The right-hander had a 1.80 ERA in 36 appearances and 36 innings pitched, while converting 21 save opportunities and even tacking on two holds. The best part of his performance is Estevez did not blow a single save. That's why it was so astounding that he wasn't named an all-star to begin with.

In the second half, things haven't been quite the same. Even prior to this past week, the warning signs were there. He allowed four unearned runs in Detroit thanks to some poor defense behind him, but Estevez allowed a bunch of hard-hit balls that outing. He blew what was a four-run lead so it wasn't a blown save, but it surely wasn't pretty.

His outing against Seattle seemed to start this whole tailspin. The Angels had that game in hand, handing the ball to Estevez with a two-run lead following Shohei Ohtani's 40th home run of the season. The all-star gave up a Grand Slam to Cade Marlowe to help give the Angels a crushing loss.

Last night, another implosion occurred. The Angels were up by one, and then before you know it, the lead was gone. Five of the six men to face him reached base, while the only man he retired did so on purpose, bunting runners over. Aaron Loup didn't help behind him, but overall, Estevez blew the save and allowed five runs while recording one out. The game went from 3-2 Angels to 8-3 Giants.

On July 30, his ERA sat at 1.88. Now, it's at 3.57 just three outings later. It's not only Estevez's fault that the Angels have been on this massive losing streak. They should've scored more than three runs as their struggles with runners in scoring position have been insanely frustrating. However, Estevez is tasked with closing games out, and after doing so in dominant fashion, he's failed miserably.

Their chances are pretty much gone at this point, but if the Angels were to ever crawl back into things, Estevez will have to be a huge reason why.