Rookie right-hander Walbert Urena, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season for the Los Angeles Angels, will try to pick up his 10th win when the Angels visit the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon in the second game of their three-game series.
Urena (9-10, 2.74 ERA), who has never faced Washington, has a glossy 2.26 ERA to go with a 4-4 record over his last 11 starts. He was a hard-luck 1-0 loser in his most recent start on Sunday at Pittsburgh when he threw his first career complete game, allowing one run — a third-inning homer down the left-field line to Henry Davis — and three hits over eight innings while walking one and striking out four.
The 22-year-old throws a power sinker that often tops 100 mph. He also throws a changeup in the low 90s, a sweeper, and a four-seam fastball that hit 101.1 mph against the Pirates.
“He’s strong, man,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “We’ve seen it all year. It’s 100 pitches, and he’s still throwing 100 and it looks pretty effortless. … The sky’s the limit for him. He just keeps getting better and better.”
Left-hander Andrew Alvarez (2-6, 3.60 ERA), an Anaheim, Calif., native who went to nearby Los Alamitos High School, will face his hometown team for the first time.
Alvarez comes in off his team’s 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, allowing three runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts.
Washington (68-81) scored three runs in the eighth inning to rally for a 4-3 victory over the Angels (56-91) in Friday night’s series opener, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
Jorbit Vivas hit a two-run, go-ahead double, and CJ Abrams had a double and two hits and a run to lead the Nationals on offense. Starter Cade Cavalli gave up two runs on three hits over six-plus innings and struck out nine but didn’t figure into the decision. Erik Tolman picked up his second save — barely — allowing one run on one hit and a walk in the ninth.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the ninth, the Angels nearly tied the score when Christian Moore drilled a two-out double to right-center that bounced off the top of the fence, driving in Oswald Peraza, who had walked. Tolman then got pinch hitter Kyren Paris on a lazy fly ball to left to end the game.
It marked just the second time in 63 games that Washington won when trailing after seven innings.
“You’ve got to be able to win games in different ways,” manager Blake Butera said. “And I think we did a good job of that tonight, playing really good baseball. It’s nice to win that one.”
Angels outfielder Mike Trout hit his 21st home run of the season in the first inning, a 416-foot drive to left-center. It was the 425th homer of his career and snapped a 27-game homerless drought.
“It’s good to see one go out, obviously,” Trout said. “I’ve been battling stuff since the (All-Star) break. But yeah, it’s good to see one go out.”
–Field Level Media
