Even with Mike Trout taking the day off, Angels rough up Cease, Sox

ANAHEIM, Calif. — It sure looked as if the White Sox were handed a kind parting gift from their host Sunday morning only to find later that apparently the size was all wrong, the tags were removed and no receipt was included.

With a doubleheader on the horizon in the heat of Texas, the Angels gave Mike Trout the day off and yet the gesture lost all value when an adjusted lineup got to starter Dylan Cease early in the White Sox’ eventual 9-2 defeat in the finale of a four-game series.

“No way to sugarcoat it, they put a pretty good attack on us today,” manager Rick Renteria said of an Angels team that hit four home runs, including two off Cease. “I know Dylan, we were hoping to get a nice outing out of him but we got him into the sixth. They were getting pitches they can handle and they drive the ball well.”

Cease has given up a home run in all eight of his big-league starts, with two coming in each of his last two starts. His 10 homers allowed in the major leagues are in stark contrast to the four he gave up in 15 Class AAA starts.

“Every [game] is a learning experience, but for me I’m taking it pitch by pitch and learning as much as I can,” Cease said. “I actually felt pretty good. I liked the shape of my stuff. Just continue to attack and keep grinding through it.”

The Sox lost three of four games in the series between teams that are in no way a playoff threat and the team has little to show for the weekend other than Friday’s evidence that the partnership of right-hander Lucas Giolito and catcher James McCann continues to blossom.

Reynaldo Lopez’s recent run of success was interrupted Friday, and the comfort level Cease had shown of late failed to develop against a lineup that was missing 41 home runs and 96 RBI from a certain two-time MVP, who has been runner-up in the voting three other times.

“In general, I thought we played pretty well,” Renteria said of the weekend, excluding Sunday’s runaway defeat. “We had a chance [Saturday] and that one got away from us. This one was the ugliest in terms of us taking a beating today. It was that simple.”

The Angels got to Cease in the second inning, starting with a Kole Calhoun one-out double to center field. After Luis Rengifo was hit by a pitch, rookie Matt Thaiss gave the Angels a 3-0 lead with a towering home run to right field.

Cease (2-6) appeared to get back on track only to get walloped by Calhoun again in the fourth inning, this time with a home run to center field. A sixth-inning double from Rengifo ended Cease’s day after five runs on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts.

The Angels, meanwhile, cruised behind rookie pitcher Griffin Canning, who was making his 17th career start. Canning (5-6) gave up one run on five hits over seven innings with a walk and eight strikeouts.

The Angels finished off the convincing victory with a home run from Shohei Ohtani in the seventh and another in the eighth from Anthony Bemboom, both off left-hander Ross Detwiler.

All of the Sox’ offense came from Eloy Jimenez, who had an RBI triple in the fourth inning and a home run in the ninth.

Jimenez’s first career triple, which brought home McCann, was lost in the sun by Trout’s replacement. Brian Goodwin. His home run to right field late in the game was his 22nd of the season and his second in two games.

“This young man is going to get better,” Renteria said of Jimenez. “Everybody should be excited about the possibilities of what he’s going to become. And in general, a lot of the kids that are out on the field, the ones that are coming, everybody should be excited. Today was just one of those days and I hope everybody continues to be excited about what is coming down the road.”