The Los Angeles Angels needed a win on Sunday to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Washington Nationals. But it wasn’t seeming to be an easy proposition with Jack Kochanowicz taking the mound for his third MLB start. The Angels believe in Kochanowicz — their No. 9 overall prospect — as a long-term piece, but his first two starts were a huge struggle.
Kochanowicz gave up 12 runs (11 earned) in seven innings between his first two starts. He had a 14.14 ERA with 14 hits, three walks and five strikeouts combined. His WHIP was 2.429 through two outings. The Angels sent him back to Double-A Rocket City afterwards, but needed a spot starter on Sunday against the Nationals.
Expectations weren’t necessarily high after those two outings, but there figured to be some natural improvement having already been to the big leagues. But no one could have expected what Kochanowicz ultimately did on the mound to end the weekend.
The 23-year-old starter tossed 7.2 innings with two earned runs on six hits, one walk and two strikeouts. He didn’t give up either earned run — a solo homer and a RBI single — until the eighth inning. Kochanowicz felt significantly better on Sunday than he did his first two starts, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I was just out there and felt more comfortable,” Kochanowicz said. “It’s the same stuff. I just have to trust myself and feel more comfortable as it goes.”
Manager Ron Washington was happy with the way Kochanowicz utilized his power sinker — 69 of 93 pitches — and remained steady throughout the afternoon.
“He was getting his sinker down,” Washington said. “It wasn’t landing directly in the middle of the plate, up. He did a really good job. And more than anything else, he was calm.”
It’s unclear if the Angels are going to turn to Kochanowicz regularly from here on out. It’s likely that matchups and availability of other pitchers will determine that. But if the Angels do need to go back to him, they can feel confident after seeing what he put together on Sunday.
Ron Washington proud of young Angels’ efforts
Washington has put his faith into the young core of the Angels, namely Logan O’Hoppe, Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Jo Adell and others. And they have been rewarding him as of late by helping lead the Angels to steady, .500 baseball in recent weeks. He has said he’s proud of the way the young players fight and stay afloat in every game.
