Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco waits as the Rays’ Colby Rasmus trots around the bases after Rasmus hit a home run during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Los Angeles Angels’ Ricky Nolasco pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD102
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez delivers to the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD106
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD101
Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols connects for a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD104
Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols, left, shakes hands with third base coach Ron Roenicke after Pujols hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD103
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout (27) celebrates with Albert Pujols (5) after Pujols hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Erasmo Ramirez during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Catching for the Rays is Derek Norris. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD107
Tampa Bay Rays’ Corey Dickerson, right, shakes hands with Evan Longoria after Dickerson scored on an RBI double by Kevin Kiermaier off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD109
Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier lines an RBI double off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rays’ Corey Dickerson scored. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD110
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout leaves his feet as he watches his double off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD111
Tampa Bay Rays’ Steven Souza Jr., right, shakes hands with third base coach Charlie Montoyo after Souza Jr., hit a two-run home run off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD1
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the first inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD1
Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols (5) high fives on-dek batter Luis Valbuena after Pujols hit a two-run home run off Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Angels’ Mike Trout also scored on the home run. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD1
Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Jose Alvarado during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD1
Tampa Bay Rays’ Logan Morrison (7) gets back to second base under the tag by Los Angeles Angels second baseman Nolan Fontana during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Morrison was eventually picked off. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD112
Tampa Bay Rays’ Colby Rasmus reacts after his home run off Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the seventh inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD1
Angels starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco waits as the Rays’ Colby Rasmus trots around the bases after Rasmus hit a home run during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier steals second base as Los Angeles Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa (3) fields a low throw during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD117
Los Angeles Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa forces Tampa Bay Rays’ Logan Morrison (7) out at second base on a fielder’s choice by Tim Beckham during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, May 24, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) ORG XMIT: SPD118
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — More than a quarter of the way into the season, Ricky Nolasco has no answers for the nagging issue that has plagued him so consistently.
After Nolasco allowed three more homers in the Angels’ 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, he said he’s not sure why so many of his pitches are ending up on the wrong side of the fence.
“There’s no real reason to explain it,” he said. “Just missing. A couple mistakes. I’m going to keep working. I was keeping us close as long as I could, and I kind of made a couple mistakes there that took us out of the game.”
Nolasco allowed his 15th and 16th homers of the season — second most in the majors — on back-to-back hitters to start the seventh. The homers by Colby Rasmus and Steven Souza, who had earlier hit a two-run homer, turned a 3-2 game into a 5-2 game.
It was a familiar script for Nolasco, who has now allowed 2.5 homers per nine innings. His career rate coming into this season was 1.1.
“It seems like right now his fastball command isn’t quite as crisp as it was at the end of last year, when he really pitched well for us,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s getting there. I think he’s close. He’s taking strides forward, but at times he’s missing with his two-seamer and his four-seamer over the heart of the plate, and those guys aren’t missing.”
Nolasco said the second-inning pitch to Souza was actually where he wanted it, but he still hit it out.
“That’s one you tip your hat,” Nolasco said. “This is the big leagues. Those guys get paid too.”
Nolasco’s homer issue could be worse, but he’s managed to limit the damage. The bases have been empty for 11 of the homers. He’s also been effective enough when keeping the ball in the ballpark that he’s still kept the Angels in most of his games. He’s allowed three runs or fewer in seven of his 10 starts.
Unfortunately for the Angels, on this night even if he’d allowed just three, it would have been too many. The Angels couldn’t muster much against Tampa Bay’s Erasmo Ramirez besides a first-inning, two-run homer by Albert Pujols, the 597th of his career.
It was his first homer since May 9, as he crawls toward the milestone. More important, to the Angels and Pujols, they need him to be more productive in order for their offense to work.
“It’d be huge,” Mike Trout said of the prospect of Pujols getting on a roll. “Obviously he’s going to be Albert. He can get hot any time. Getting a homer tonight was big for him.”
After the Pujols homer, the Angels got only two runners into scoring position, on doubles by Trout in the third and Andrelton Simmons in the fourth.
To Scioscia, though, it wasn’t for lack of good swings.
“I thought we had a real good day in the batters’ box,” he said “Albert got it started with the home run and I think everybody in our lineup hit the ball hard twice, and not a lot to show for it. Sometimes, that’s the way it goes.”
