Angels get to Burnett and finish off Phillies

ANAHEIM, Calif. - For the second straight night, this one a 4-3 loss to Los Angeles, the Phillies unraveled in the sixth inning. The Angels sprung ahead Wednesday even before their Rally Monkey appeared on the Angel Stadium scoreboard. It resembled a typical A.J. Burnett implosion: double, hit batter, walk, bloop single.

So it goes.

Burnett's ERA crept to 4.35. He walked four more batters to raise his league-leading total to 72. His 10 hit batters are tied for second most in the league. The Phillies have lost each of his last six starts; Burnett's ERA is 6.54 in those games.

The offense, yet again, sputtered. The Phillies have scored three or fewer runs in 63 of their 121 games.

A highlight, you ask? Ken Giles threw 10 pitches in a scoreless seventh inning. He struck out Mike Trout with a diving slider that was set up by a three fastballs clocked at 99, 99 and 100 m.p.h.

Trout finished 2 for 17 with seven strikeouts against the Phillies this season. The Millville, N.J., native made two outs in the Angels' seven-run sixth inning Tuesday.

"We seem to be pitching him tough," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "I don't want to reveal any secrets, but yeah."

Trout grounded into a double play in his first at-bat Wednesday. The Angels will not play the Phillies again until 2017.

mgelb@phillynews.com

@mattgelb www.inquirer.com/zone