PITTSBURGH - Walbert Ureña did his part and then some. The Angels just couldn’t match it.
In a game built almost entirely on pitching, Ureña went toe-to-toe with Pirates ace Paul Skenes deep into the afternoon Sunday at PNC Park, but Henry Davis’ third-inning home run ended up as the only scoring in Pittsburgh’s 1-0 win over Los Angeles.
Ureña was sharp for eight innings, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out four. The lone damage came in the third, when Davis jumped on a fastball and sent it to left for his ninth homer of the season.
After that, Ureña settled in and kept Pittsburgh from adding on, which meant the Angels never had to dip into their bullpen at all. He finished the day 9-10, with his ERA dropping to 2.74.
Skenes was just as hard to solve while he was in there. The Pirates right-hander threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk with two strikeouts before handing things over to a bullpen that protected the lead the rest of the way.
Gregory Soto, Carmen Mlodzinski and Camilo Doval worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, and Mason Montgomery navigated a walk in the ninth to earn his 10th save. Skenes moved to 10-11.
Los Angeles’ best shot came in the fifth. Zach Neto was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and Mike Trout followed with a line-drive double to center for his 22nd of the year.
But the Angels couldn’t cash it in. Oneil Cruz tracked down the ball in center and threw a relay through Brandon Lowe to Henry Davis, who tagged Neto out at the plate as he tried to score from first.
Trout was left stranded one batter later.
That was as close as the Angels came all day. Wade Meckler, Neto and Christian Moore each singled, Trout added another hit in the eighth, and Josh Lowe worked two walks.
Los Angeles also had one last chance in the ninth, when pinch-hitter Kyren Paris drew a walk after a Henry Davis pitch-result challenge was upheld. But Denzer Guzman, hitting for Adam Frazier, flied out to right to finish it off.
The Angels managed five hits and one extra-base hit, but nothing across the plate to show for it.
Even with Sunday’s loss, Los Angeles took the series two games to one. Saturday’s shutout gem from Yusei Kikuchi was the headliner, and Ureña’s outing nearly matched it - just without the run support to turn it into a win.
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