Los Angeles Angels fans outraged as starting pitcher Jose Suarez pounded by woeful Oakland Athletics: "The worst pitcher in baseball"

Oakland Athletics v Los Angeles Angels
Jose Suarez #54 of the Los Angeles Angels pitches during the second inning against the Oakland Athletics

The Los Angeles Angels fell 11-10 in extra innings to the Oakland Athletics on a thrilling Monday evening in Anaheim. However, the topic of conversation for many Angels fans was not the roller-coaster loss, but the man responsible for digging the team into a 7-1 hole to begin with.

Embattled pitcher Jose Suarez started the game for Los Angeles, with Angels fans hoping that facing the worst team in MLB might help him overcome his early-season woes.

No such luck. The Athletics chased Suarez after the 25-year-old hurler gave up seven earned runs on five homers, eight hits, and two walks. Suarez is the third Angels pitcher to give up five homers in a game — the first since Nick Tropeano on July 26, 2018. Willie Fraser also allowed five homers on Aug. 17, 1988.

A fourth-consecutive sub-par start raised Suarez's ERA to 10.26 on the season. It was his worst start since his initial appearance of the 2023 campaign when he allowed six earned runs on eight hits over 4-1/3 innings against the Seattle Mariners on April 4.

Angels manager Phil Nevin has stuck with Suarez through a rough April. After Suarez allowed four earned runs on 10 hits in four innings to one of the worst teams in the National League — the Washington Nationals — Nevin told Sports Illustrated:

"He's gotta get better, he knows that. I'm sure he'll tell you the same thing and we trust him, he's done great for us. He pitched well for us last year and he'll find it, it's been two starts."

However, Los Angeles Angels fans aren't as patient as their manager. Suarez's ERA was 9.26 entering Monday's game.

According to FanGraphs, Suarez is hanging on as the number four starter in the Angels rotation. However, with Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval both sporting better stats than Suarez, his days in the rotation may be numbered. In fact, after giving up five home runs to the Athletics, his number may just be up.

It's pretty safe to say that Suarez shouldn't be expecting any Christmas cards from Angels fans next winter.

Suarez was serviceable for Los Angeles Angels in 2021, 2022

Jose Suarez #54 of the Los Angeles Angels leaves the field after a poor outing against the Seattle Mariners
Jose Suarez #54 of the Los Angeles Angels leaves the field after a poor outing against the Seattle Mariners

Suarez showed signs of becoming a serviceable member of the Angels' rotation in the past couple of seasons. He went 8-8 in both 2021 and 2022, with respective ERAs of 3.71 and 3.92. Unfortunately for him and the team, that has all come crashing down this April.

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