If once is a fluke and twice is coincidence, four errors in three games is a trend at the very least. If not for Brendan Harris’ nimble feet, Alberto Callaspo may have committed five since Sunday, more than a third of the Angels third baseman’s total last season.
Thanks to Harris not only leaping to snare a high throw, but skillfully landing on first base in the eighth inning of Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros, Callaspo avoided his second consecutive two-error game. Since committing two throwing errors in a 5-4 loss to the Astros on Sunday, Callaspo committed one each Monday and Tuesday.
The latest was the first fielding error of the bunch and the most costly on the scoreboard. The ball slipped out of Callaspo’s glove as he made the transfer following a slow-rolling ground ball, costing the Angels a pair of unearned runs in the third inning of Tuesday’s series opener with the Chicago Cubs.
The release point on his throw has been the culprit for four errant throws since Sunday, only one of which cost the Angels a run. But all four throws – and three throwing errors – occurred during a pair of one-run losses to the Astros, the team with the worst record in the American League.
“This guy, I mean he’s usually automatic down there,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Occasionally guys are just going to be a little bit out of sync and he has been. This guy’s a terrific third baseman, so he’ll get back to where he needs to be.”
Houston scored the final two runs of Sunday’s 5-4 win when Callaspo’s throw to second base was wide, preventing a possible double play in the ninth inning.
His errant third-inning throw Monday was negated when catcher Chris Iannetta picked off Houston’s Matt Dominguez, who would score the eventual winning run in the sixth inning of a 2-1 victory that completed an embarrassing sweep.
Callaspo isn’t terribly concerned about the miscues, especially given his solid defensive track record.
“Things happen,” Callaspo said before Tuesday’s game. “Sometimes you have to make errors. You’ve got to forget and move on.”
Callaspo insisted none of the errors contributed to the next. He isn’t letting the miscues get in his head.
“I’m not that kind of guy,” he said. “I’m OK. I’m good. I play my game and that’s it.”
Callaspo also doesn’t believe there is any connection between his defensive miscues and the 5-for-32 slump he carried into Tuesday.
He can thank a little shoddy defense from an opponent for his ninth-inning double on Monday that caromed off the glove of Astros first baseman Chris Carter into the stands above the Astros’ dugout. It was his first extra-base hit since May 24, when his average was 30 points higher than the .254 mark with which he entered Tuesday’s game.
