Angels' loss to Cubs includes nightmare inning, with denied challenge

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on Apr 1, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — The Angels’ 6-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon came down to one inning when nothing went right.

The Angels failed to make the pitches or defensive plays they needed to make and — according to umpires — they even failed to correctly call for a replay review that could have changed everything.

It ended up with the Cubs scoring five runs.

The Angels (3-4) had only four hits and they struck out 16 times as they completed their season-opening trip with a loss on a 39-degree day. It was the coldest first-pitch for an Angels game since an April 2013 game in Minnesota.

The nightmare inning for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi started ominously, with a walk to No. 9 hitter Miguel Amaya.

Nico Hoerner then drilled a double into the gap in left-center. Amaya was waved around third. Shortstop Zach Neto’s relay throw to catcher Travis d’Arnaud beat Amaya to the plate, so the only question was whether the tag was applied in time.

Plate umpire David Rackley called Amaya safe.

“I felt like I had him,” d’Arnaud said. “I thought my foot blocked the plate after I got the ball. David said he thought he squeezed his hand in there, but I felt like my knee was in front of the plate. I thought I had him.”

Manager Kurt Suzuki held up his hand, signaling to the umpires they were checking the replay. Suzuki then cupped his hands over his ears in the traditional sign to ask umpires to check with the replay center in New York.

But third base umpire Chris Guccione, the crew chief, disallowed the challenge, tapping his hand on his wrist to signal that the Angels had taken too much time. By rule, a team has 15 seconds for deliberation after signaling that they’re checking.

Suzuki said that bench coach John Gibbons, who is in conduit between Suzuki and the Angels staffers looking at the replay, said it was close.

“He said it was a judgment thing,” Suzuki said. “He said it was like zero-bam and then I challenged, so it was like right after. If we’re late, we’re late. Can’t really argue that. Even if it’s a half-second, a second. You can’t argue that. If you’re late, you’re late.”

Guccione told a pool reporter that the umpire alerts clock operators in the press box to start the timer as soon as he acknowledges the manager’s hold, and then the umpire feels a buzz on a device on his belt when the clock runs out. The 15-second countdown is also visible on the same clocks used for the timer between pitches.

“In this case, there was one buzz and maybe a second buzz before Kurt — and I’m visually looking at the zeros,” Guccione said. “So there’s zeros and the buzz, and then Kurt came up just a little late.”

Even had the replay been allowed, it wasn’t clear that it would have overturned the call.

Also, at that point it was only 1-0, so the Angels had plenty of opportunity to still get out of the inning while still in the game.

But Kikuchi gave up four more hits and he issued another walk. Two of the hits were hard-hit balls that first baseman Jeimer Candelario couldn’t handle.

The Cubs ended up with five runs in the inning, one on the questionable call at the plate and three after the second out of the inning.

Kikuchi ended up throwing 43 pitches in the inning, including 16 after what might have been the third out.

“It kind of snowballed a little bit on us,” Suzuki said. “It’s a momentum thing, as we know in baseball. Once you get the momentum, things start rolling. With good teams, sometimes it takes a little bit to get it stopped. They got it rolling a little bit, scored some runs and that was the ballgame, pretty much.”

Kikuchi said the four walks he issued were the problem, especially the leadoff walk in the decisive third.

“The first walk in the third inning, I think brought in their rally,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “I think that was something I really wanted to avoid. I think that sums up my outing.”

The only consolation for the Angels was that Kikuchi still managed to come back and get through 5 1/3 innings, without any further damage.

The Angels didn’t do much to get back in the game, though.

Neto singled to lead off the game, and then he was caught stealing. The Angels didn’t have another baserunner until Neto walked in the fourth. They didn’t have another hit until Neto singled with two outs in the sixth. Mike Trout followed with a walk. Jo Adell then drove in a run with a single, and the Angels scored a second run on an error.

That was it for the offense, though.

After scoring 29 runs in their first four games in Houston, the Angels managed just six in three games at Wrigley Field.

Suzuki credited Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd for the trouble at the plate. He struck out 10 in 5 2/3 innings.

“He was executing his pitches,” Suzuki said. “It’s one of those days again where the pitcher makes his pitches. He’s a good pitcher. It’s one of those days where he executed every pitch when he needed to and our guys battled, but he got the best of us today.”