"The Angels have danced their way through the 2010 season, and it hasn't been a West Coast swing. It's been more of a one-step-forward, two-steps-back kind of jig, one the team and several of its players have perfected over the last two months.

Any momentum the Angels gained in wins over Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday fizzled with Friday night's 8-3 loss to Seattle, a game in which Mariners left-hander Cliff Lee allowed two earned runs and four hits and struck out 10 in eight innings.

The same could be said for erratic Angels left-hander Scott Kazmir, who followed two solid starts with a 5 1/3-inning appearance. He gave up six runs (five earned) and eight hits in an effort in which, by his own admission, he wasn't fooling anyone at Angel Stadium.

"They weren't biting on my offspeed pitches because they were locked in to my fastball," said Kazmir, who fell to 3-5 with a 6.34 earned-run average. "I would have kept them honest more if I threw more sliders and changeups."