David Price of the Toronto Blue Jays throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 21, 2015 in Anaheim, California.Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Their left fielder committed his first error in two years – and then he committed another. Their reigning MVP's August average dipped to .183 on another hitless night. They even trailed 3-0 against David Price before they took their first swing.
The Los Angeles Angels had a Friday to forget, even if it ended with them still in playoff position.
Price struck out nine during eight innings of six-hit ball, and Josh Donaldson drove in three runs in the Toronto Blue Jays' 9-2 victory.
Kole Calhoun homered for the Angels, who stayed in the second wild card spot despite their eighth loss in 12 games. Los Angeles committed three errors while losing its second straight game by a combined 17-3.
"We never gave ourselves a chance," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Fortunately, it's one loss. That's all. We're going to play better (Saturday)."
Angels All-Star Hector Santiago was chased in the fourth inning for his shortest start of the season. He walked four in the first inning before Toronto scored two runs on Shane Victorino's first error in two years.
Santiago (7-7) couldn't come back from a 48-pitch first inning. He walked four of his first six batters, including Russell Martin with the bases loaded. Victorino then failed to catch Kevin Pillar's low, playable liner to left, allowing two more runs to score.
"I was trying to hit too many spots, and when you try to make too many good pitches, you start missing," Santiago said. "My mechanics weren't there, and I just wasn't driving the ball the way I've been doing it. I don't think their lineup had any effect on what I did. For the most part, I think my career numbers against those guys are better than theirs are against me. I just kind of fell apart."
Donaldson chased Santiago with an RBI double in the fourth. He drilled another run-scoring double off the wall in the eighth for his 94th RBI of the season, prompting chants of "M-V-P!" from the Canadian fans at the Big A.
Mike Trout, the reigning AL MVP, went 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts, extending his August slump.
"Price is one of the best in the league," Trout said. "He had all of his pitches working, and he was throwing them for strikes. We couldn't really sit on one single pitch."
Price (12-4) was better than he needed to be while picking up his third victory in four starts for the Blue Jays. After his teammates batted around in a 30-minute, three-run rally in the top half of the first, Price didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.
"I was prepared to sit in there for an hour," Price said of the opening frame. "To get a three-run lead before you throw your first pitch, that's great."
Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer and Ben Revere had four hits for the Blue Jays, who opened a weekend meeting of the AL wild card leaders with their 17th victory in 21 games.
Price retired 10 straight between Trout's first-inning walk and C.J. Cron's leadoff double in the fifth. Cron scored on Chris Iannetta's double down the first-base line, but Price pitched out of that jam before striking out five Angels in the next two innings.
Victorino, the four-time Gold Glove winner recently acquired by Los Angeles, hadn't made an error in 113 games since Aug. 14, 2013. He was then given another error on a throw to the plate in the ninth. He has never committed more than three errors in an entire season during his major league career.
Smoak connected for his 12th homer in the seventh inning, one pitch after Angels second baseman Ryan Jackson just missed an easily catchable pop fly. That mistake allowed Edwin Encarnacion to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 17 games. Cron also dropped an earlier popup for an error.