BRIAN GOODWIN (left) homered and Mike Trout had three hits as the Angels lost a 16-inning game to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night in Anaheim, falling 10-8. (Flickr/Keith Allison).

In the recent surge by the Los Angeles Angels into playoff contention, one of the most important factors has been the performance of the relief corps.

But even a top-notch bullpen can be stretched to the breaking point, and that happened Thursday night as the Halos lost a 16-inning marathon to the Baltimore Orioles 10-8 in Anaheim.

The loss dropped the Angels’ record to 54-50, still in third place in the American League West.

In a back-and-forth game, the two teams traded runs all night and were knotted up 5-5 after nine innings. It remained that way for the next five innings as the Orange County team used a total of nine pitchers up to that point.

It was the 10th pitcher who saw the deadlock break. The Orioles scored three runs in the top of the 15th inning off Griffin Canning (3-6), but that wasn’t catastrophic because the Angels countered with three of their own for an 8-8 tie.

But in the top of the 16th, Canning – the last pitcher standing – was touched again, this time for two runs on a home run by Tony Mancini that decided the game. Canning finished with a two-inning stint marked by five hits and five runs yielded. He walked one and struck out two.

Leading the Angel offense was Mike Trout with three hits. Kole Calhoun had three RBIs and Brian Goodwin homered.

The Angels will take on the O’s again today (Friday) at 7 p.m.