The Angels have cooled off.

Their offense has come back down to earth recently, and after losing 2 out of 3 to the Rays in Tampa, the team came home to face the Minnesota Twins, and were promptly torn apart in the first 2 games. The athletic Twins did everything better in the first 2 games; here is the summary.

The first game was a lot more fun to watch than the 2nd game; we’ll get to that other one later. It was a duel between John Lackey and Scott Baker, and Baker blinked first. A mistake to Mark Teixeira was hammered into the seats, and the Angels had a 1-0 lead. Lackey was sharp until the fifth, until he gave up the tying run. After that, it was all zeros. Both starters pitched a strong 8 innings, giving up 1 run each. Then it was battle of the bullpens, and they dueled the two teams into extras. It was Justin Speier that gave up the go-ahead run in the 12th inning. A triple and an RBI single did the job for Minnesota. If there’s anyone who has been better than Francisco Rodriguez this year, it is Joe Nathan. Coming in with the one-run lead, Nathan set the Angels down 1-2-3 to get his 35th save. His ERA is 0.98.

WOW.

Game 2 was a lot different from game 1, as the Angels looked tired from the previous night’s extra inning affair. After getting only 5 hits the night before, the team was blanked by outstanding left-hander Glen Perkins, and Minnesota exploded for runs. The final score was 9-0 Twins.

Joe Saunders had a very rare rough outing for the Angels, and the defense behind him wasn’t too good either. After making 2 errors the previous night, the Angels made 2 more. For the Twins, Delmon Young and Denard Span had big offense games, with Young driving in 3 runs and Span driving in 4. The explosion was capped off by a 5-run 6th inning that knocked Joe Saunders out of the ballgame.

These are the dog days of summer, and the Angels, who looked so strong just a week ago, have lost 4 out of their last 6 ballgames. They are also averaging only 3.1 runs per game in their last nine. Not a lot to worry about however; they are still 15 games above Texas, the closest AL West competitor. It would still be important for the team to clinch home field for the entire playoffs.

Especially the way those Rays play at home.