Ryan Zeferjahn's meltdown costs Angels in loss to Braves

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on Jul 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

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ATLANTA — It took seven minutes in the sixth inning for the Angels to go from a two-run lead to a five-run deficit, on their way to a nightmarish loss.

Just moments after second baseman Christian Moore left the game with an injury suffered while diving for a ground ball, Ryan Zeferjahn gave up the first of two homers in a 16-pitch disaster, sending the Angels to an 8-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.

Moore, the Angels’ top hitting prospect, dove to his right to try to field a ground ball and came up writhing in pain, holding his left hand.

There was no immediate word on the severity of Moore’s injury.

Just as Moore was walking off the field with a trainer, interim manager Ray Montgomery went to the mound to replace starter Yusei Kikuchi with Zeferjahn.

The Angels had a 2-0 lead and Kikuchi was at 100 pitches after allowing back-to-back two-out singles. Braves catcher Sean Murphy, who had struck out twice against Kikuchi, was stepping to the plate.

Zeferjahn’s first pitch was a cutter he left over the middle of the plate, and Murphy hit a three-run homer.

Within the next 11 pitches, Zeferjahn gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. His second pitch to Matt Olson was a fastball over the inside corner, which Olson drilled over the right-field fence for a grand slam.

Zeferjahn remained in to face one more hitter, and he gave up another hit, before Montgomery finally pulled the plug.

Zeferjahn, who is in second major league season, has at times been one of the Angels’ reliable high-leverage relievers. He’s also endured a few meltdowns.

He has now suffered five blown saves in 37 outings, with a 6.19 ERA. He’s walked 19 in 32 innings.

Zeferjahn has also been unfortunate enough to be on the mound during some rough defensive moments, most recently when shortstop Kevin Newman lost a pop-up in the sun to cost the Angels a run on Sunday.

Zeferjahn’s performance spoiled a night when the Angels were once again poised to go over .500 for the first time since April. They’ve lost the next game each of the four times they’ve gotten to .500 since they last slipped under more than two months ago. Three of those have come in the past week and a half.

The Angels erased an ugly loss on Sunday with a shutout victory on Tuesday, and they were heading toward another on Wednesday.

Kikuchi blanked the Braves on four hits through the first five innings. His pitch count climbed early in the game, though, which is why he was at 100 after allowing the two singles in the sixth.

The Angels didn’t provide him much of a cushion, with the hitters going silent after Jo Adell’s two-run single in the first until Jorge Soler hit a solo homer in the ninth, the 200th of his career.