The Los Angeles Angels suffered a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in their latest game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, a failed squeeze play left manager Ron Washington fuming. Luis Guillorme was at bat with the bases loaded and the Angels trailing by one run, tasked with executing a squeeze bunt to tie the game.
However, Guillorme, who had been recently acquired by the Angels, missed a 1-1 slider from Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero, resulting in Zach Neto being tagged out at home. Despite Kyren Paris being safe at third base, Guillorme struck out later in the inning, ending any hopes of a comeback for the Angels.
After the game, Washington defended his decision to call for the squeeze bunt, citing the lefty-on-lefty matchup and wanting to avoid a potential double play. However, he placed all blame on Guillorme for not getting the bunt down despite Romero’s wildness leading up to the at-bat.
When asked about his manager’s comments, Guillorme admitted his failure to execute the bunt and acknowledged that Romero made a good pitch. He simply needed to make contact with the ball. The loss dropped the Angels to 15-28 and kept them at the bottom of the AL West standings. They have struggled to find consistency this season, winning consecutive games only twice amid a string of losses.
