The Los Angeles Angels tied the MLB record by striking out 20 times in a nine-inning game, losing to the Houston Astros 4-2 on Sunday. With the game tied at two, Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, securing the Houston victory.

In their last 27 innings, the Angels have struck out 48 times, recording just eight hits. The Angels also set a franchise record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

Los Angeles becomes the eighth team to strike out 20 times in a nine-inning game. The Detroit Tigers were the last team to reach the mark, doing so against the Chicago White Sox on May 28, 2019.

The Angels (37-44) sit in fourth place in the AL West.

(Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today)

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What's contributed to the Angels hitting struggles?

Sam Blum, Angels beat writer: The first two games it was the fastball. They threw a lot of fastballs high up in the zone. That was an issue.

Valdez throws more of a sinker. The Astros pitching has been good against everyone. They nearly no-hit the Yankees in back-to-back games. But the difference between the Yankees and the Angels was that something finally broke the funk. Someone did something. In this case, the Angels just could not string anything together, even walks.

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How the Astros pitchers exposed the Angels lineup?

Blum: It's probably a combination of the Angels' lineup not being very good and their approach being even worse. No team should strike out 48 times in three games. It just shows they're not making adjustments. The Astros pitchers are obviously very good. But no Major League team should look this bad.

Hitting coach Jeremy Reed was at a loss for an explanation to describe the mess. The same can be said for me.