Angels' sickening bullpen meltdown vs Cardinals has to be among worst in history

The Los Angeles Angels had perhaps one of the worst outings in history on Monday night. The Halos took a 4-0 lead into the seventh against the St. Louis Cardinals and walked out of Angel Stadium with a 10-5 loss.

The Angels bullpen allowed eight runners to dent the plate in the seventh inning. It started with a leadoff home run courtesy of Nolan Arenado, and snowballed from there. By the time the seventh inning came to close, LA had used three relievers, allowed seven hits, walked three batters, and hit another.

Monday's devastating loss was yet another reminder of how awful this Angels bullpen truly is. The Halos closed the gap to a three-run deficit thanks to a Kevin Pillar RBI single in the eighth inning. But the Cardinals put the game out of reach after a comedy of errors befell the Angels in the top of the ninth.

Angels' sickening bullpen meltdown vs Cardinals has to be among worst in history

The fact that Ron Washington had to make three separate trips to the mound in the seventh inning is beyond embarrassing. And this is now the second time in four games in which the bullpen has been at fault for an Angels loss. On Friday night, Carlos Estevez allowed two runs on three hits, including the two-run homer off the bat of Adam Frazier that ultimately decided the game.

Even if the Angels' biggest free agent acquisition, Robert Stephenson, was healthy, this would still be a below-average bullpen. The stable of relievers that Washington has at his disposal is among the worst in baseball. On Thursday night, the trio of Adam Cimber, Matt Moore and Luis Garcia threw 50 pitches and allowed eight earned runs on seven hits and three walks in ONE inning.

The Angels bullpen ranks 27th in home runs allowed, 29th in ERA, and has blown six saves on the season. Outside of veteran right-hander Hunter Strickland, the Halos' relief corps can't take care of business.

This is, unfortunately, a situation that is only likely to get worse before it gets better. The Angels don't have much in the way of top pitching prospects down at Triple-A, but perhaps it's time for LA to call up a pitcher from the Salt Lake Bees to help stop the bleeding.

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