The Angels didn’t get the result they wanted in Seattle, but Walbert Urena gave them another reason to believe.
Los Angeles fell 1-0 to the Mariners, completing a sweep, yet the rookie right-hander was the story for most of the night after carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Even in defeat, Urena kept showing the same traits that have made him hard to ignore: poise, stuff and a knack for escaping trouble.
That poise was tested right away. Seattle loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, and Urena had to work his way out of a jam immediately.
He did it the hard way, getting Josh Naylor to roll into a double play and end the threat. After that, he settled in and looked in control, striking out the side in the second and allowing only one baserunner before the sixth.
“After that [first] inning, I just tried to let go and have fun out there,” Ureña said.
The no-hit bid ended when J.P. Crawford doubled to right-center, and the Mariners again put runners on with the bases loaded.
Cal Raleigh then drew a walk to bring home the game’s only run. Kurt Suzuki went to the bullpen after Urena had thrown 107 pitches.
The final line still stood out: 5-2/3 innings, one run, one hit, four walks, two HBP and six strikeouts. Urena said he wasn’t focused on the no-hitter, even if the moment clearly had everyone else watching.
“I really didn’t know that,” Ureña said of his no-hit bid. “I just tried to focus on making pitches every time.”
Urena has now become a regular part of the Angels’ rotation. He’s appeared in 16 games, 14 of them starts, and is 5-7 with a 3.03 ERA. Over 77-1/3 innings, he has struck out 75 batters.
The next step is obvious: command. His walk rate is still above 10 percent, and cutting down the free passes will be the key challenge moving forward. Urena knows it, too.
Said Ureña: “My command wasn’t the best today,” he said. “I made good pitches sometimes when I needed it. That helped me a lot -- a lot of ground balls, no hard contact.”
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