The Angels are turning to Walbert Urena on Saturday night as they try to shake off a 4-3 loss to the Nationals and even up the series.
Urena has been one of Los Angeles’ bright spots this season, and he’s picked it up again after a short rough patch and that inevitable bad outing against the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 25. Over his last two starts, the rookie right-hander has allowed just one run in each game, working eight innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Sunday and seven innings the start before that against a strong New York Yankees lineup.
That kind of work has given the Angels a chance to win, but run support has been a different story. Los Angeles often struggles to get beyond three runs, and last night was another example.
The Angels did manage 10 runs against New York in one of their rare wins, but their overall profile still looks thin offensively. Urena enters with a 9-10 record, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
Washington will counter with Andrew Alvarez, who has made 14 starts and comes in at 2-6 with a 3.35 ERA. The numbers suggest a solid enough challenge for an Angels lineup that has had trouble producing, and Alvarez has shown some uneven results lately.
In his last start, he gave up four earned runs in 4-1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two outings earlier, he allowed three runs in 4-2/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies.
The Angels are also hoping for more from Mike Trout, who snapped a 27-game home run drought with a solo shot to start last night’s game. That homer came off Washington starter Cade Cavalli, and it was the kind of moment Los Angeles has badly needed while Trout’s power has been missing and the offense has stalled.
Both clubs sit in last place in their divisions, but Washington has a little more room to dream about climbing out. The Nationals gained a game on the New York Mets with last night’s win and now sit one game back, two in the loss column. The Mets have spent most of the season in the NL East basement, and the Nats will be hoping their time there stays short.
In Other News...
Angels Have A New Young Core And One Tough Decision Ahead
A new era has given the Angels something they have not always had in recent years: a clearer path to building around young, controllable talent. With new ownership under Stan Kroenke and more willingness to spend on the roster, the organization has also leaned into adding promising pieces through the draft and the trade deadline, giving the front office a different kind of flexibility as it maps out the next contending group.
Reid Detmers, Zach Neto, Walbert Urena, Samy Natera Jr. and Wade Meckler are part of that changing picture, each offering a different sort of upside and a reason for optimism about where the pipeline is headed. The challenge now is less about finding talent than deciding which of those players can truly anchor the next competitive Angels team, and which ones belong in the discussion only until the tougher roster calls start to arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Finally Get Their Reset After Years Of Frustration
After years of frustration, the Angels are finally headed for a long-awaited reset. Arte Moreno has sold his ownership stake in the franchise, closing out a turbulent stretch that included plenty of fan dissatisfaction and 11 consecutive losing seasons, and giving the organization a chance to start over with a new voice at the top.
Stan Kroenke is set to take over ownership, while interim general manager John Mozeliak is likely to remain in place, a sign that the transition may bring both continuity and change. In a Southern California sports landscape that has seen its share of ownership controversies, this is one of the more consequential shifts, and Angels fans will be watching closely to see whether the new era brings a different kind of direction. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Keep Finding Painful New Ways To Let Wins Slip Away
The Angels had another one sitting there through seven innings, with Mike Trouts home run getting them on the board early and the staff holding a narrow lead into the late innings. Washington had already answered once to tie it in the fourth, but Los Angeles still carried a 2-1 advantage deep into the night before the game started to tilt in the kind of way that has become hard for this club to ignore.
Then came the eighth, when the Nationals strung together three runs to flip the score and leave the Angels chasing again. Even in the ninth, there was one more scare when Christian Moore sent a drive high off the right-field wall for a double, but it was another reminder that this team keeps finding new ways to watch wins slip away just when they seem within reach. [Read more 🡒]