Walbert Ureña keeps making the kind of starts that force people to look twice.
On Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Angels rookie right-hander went pitch-for-pitch with reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and came out with another outing that added to an already impressive first season. Ureña worked eight innings of one-run ball, but the Angels still fell 1-0 at PNC Park.
The only run came on Henry Davis’ home run in the third inning, and that was enough to hand Los Angeles its 11th loss in its last 13 games. The Angels also dropped two of three in the series, and both defeats were by the same 1-0 score.
Skenes, who grew up as an Angels fan in Orange County, Calif., faced the club for the first time and logged 5 1/3 innings. He combined with four relievers on a five-hit shutout as the Pirates improved in a tightly played game that never gave either side much breathing room.
Ureña’s latest matchup only added to the list of high-end arms he has already stared down this month. Since the beginning of August, he has also faced the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom. The results have been mixed - he was charged with four runs in 2 1/3 innings against Miami - but he has also thrown six shutout innings against both Milwaukee and Texas.
“[Ureña’s] done extremely well against some great pitchers,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Kudos to him.
He pitched an amazing game. He was awesome.”
Against Pittsburgh, Ureña allowed just three hits, struck out four and walked one while using only 88 pitches, 60 of them strikes. He also got 15 outs on ground balls, a clear sign his sinker was doing the heavy lifting.
“I was just trying to attack, trying to get ground balls, and I think that’s what we do,” Ureña said. “I was just trying to attack every hitter on every pitch. Even the home run by Davis came on a pretty good sinker, and I might throw it again if I had the chance.”
Suzuki pushed him into the eighth inning for the first time in Ureña’s 22 career starts. It was another step forward after the rookie had already gone seven innings twice this season, including last Monday, when he gave up one run and beat the Yankees.
“[Ureña’s] strong, man,” Suzuki said. “We’ve seen it all year.
He gets 100 pitches, and he’s still throwing 100 [mph]. It just looks like he isn’t even putting any effort into it; his delivery is so easy.
You’re just kind of amazed every time he takes the ball.”
The performance was another reminder of how quickly Ureña has settled in during his first major league season. He owns a 2.74 ERA through 26 games, including 24 starts, a line that should put him in the conversation for American League Rookie of the Year.
“God is my everything, and I pray a lot,” Ureña said. “I’ve been working; I have my discipline, my same routine every day, and just trying to do the same thing every day to be successful.”
For the Angels, who own the worst record in the majors at 54-89, Ureña has been one of the few consistent bright spots. And for Suzuki, a rookie manager and former big league catcher who played 16 seasons before retiring in 2022, watching that growth has been one of the season’s clear highlights.
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