Sam

Bachman

Bachman was asked to protect a two-run lead, and couldn’t after giving up a two-run homer to Jonah Heim. Kirby Yates also struggled in the 10th, walking and hitting a batter before exiting and taking the loss after Nick Kurtz drew a free pass with the bases loaded. Bachman could get more save chances, but it’s far from a guarantee, and fantasy managers need to be awfully desperate to consider him an option in leagues.

Bachman has emerged as one of the Angels’ most trusted relievers and was working on a streak of 12 straight scoreless appearances before giving up his third and fourth homers of the season today. It seems like a setback for his chances of earning saves and probably gives Kirby Yates’ scant fantasy value a little boost.

Yates was pitching with a lead for the first time in five appearances since coming off the IL, though that had less to do with his status than the fact that the Angels have done little but trail lately. Up 5-3, they went to Ryan Zerferjahn in the seventh tonight, only to watch him hit back-to-back batters with one out. Sam Bachman came in and, after allowing one inherited runner to score, kept the A’s scoreless through the eighth. That led to Yates taking over in a one-run game, but McNeil sent a ball 364 feet down the right-field line to even things up. The Angels ended up losing in 10. Yates has allowed three runs in five innings since coming off the IL, and his velocity is down a bit more than two mph from last year. He’s probably not going to run away with the closer’s role in Anaheim.

It’s theoretically possible that Yates takes over the closing role in Los Angeles considering Ryan Zeferjahn and Sam Bachman appears to be the only obstacles standing in his way at the moment. However, he got hit hard in a couple rehab outings where his fastball velocity was down considerably. A wait and see approach seems like the correct move here, but Yates is probably worth a speculative roster spot in extremely deep leagues where saves are hard to find on the waiver wire.

The Angels already had a lefty in the game in Brent Suter, but they wanted to put in more of a power guy to face Caglianone’s power. What followed was a 109-mph homer. The Angels took another blown save in the 10th, as Joey Lucchesi, pitching with a one-run lead in the Angels debut, gave up a three-run homer to lose the game. The Halos’ pen is even more of a mess now with Jordan Romano gone. Maybe Kirby Yates or Ben Joyce will eventually fix things in the ninth, but no one seems trustworthy at the moment. If one absolutely had to roster a currently active Angels reliever, Sam Bachman, who gave up two runs while getting three outs tonight, is probably the best option.

Bachman did the heavy lifting in the Angels’ bullpen game today. He came in after Sam Aldegheri gave a up a Ben Rice homer to start the sixth, cutting the Angels’ lead to two runs, and faced the minimum through the eighth, picking off the lone player to reach against him. It really should have gotten more than a hold, but the win went to Aldegheri. Bachman has a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings out of the Angels pen. There’s a chance he could factor into the mix for saves if veterans don’t step up, though he’d have to cut down on the walks first. He’s already issued eight.

Bachman got the chance to close with Jordan Romano unavailable, as Romano had pitched in the last two games. He looked fine in the eighth, but he gave up a bloop double to Cal Raleigh, and Julio Rodríguez knocked Raleigh in to give Bachman the blown save. The former first-round pick will be a high-leverage option for Los Angeles, but not likely one who sees many save chances.

With Robert Stephenson (elbow) landing on the injured list, Bachman will get another chance to show what he can do out of the Angels’ bullpen. He has made 19 appearances with the team already on the season, compiling a 4.96 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and a 14/6 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings of work. Expect him to be used in the middle innings.

Bachman’s latest stint with the Angels lasted only two games as he’s been shipped back to the minors to clear space for Jack Kochanowicz to come up and take the ball against the Rangers.

Bachman returns to the majors to fill Tyler Anderson’s roster spot while the veteran southpaw is away from the club on paternity leave. The 25-year-old righty has posted a lackluster 5.02 ERA across 14 1/3 innings (18 appearances) this season at the highest level.