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WASHINGTON — The third time truly was a charm for Jack Kochanowicz.
After getting knocked around in his first two big league starts, the Angels rookie pitched into the eighth inning in a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Angels had a six-run lead with Kochanowicz working on a shutout as the eighth began, but things got dicey over the last two innings. The Angels endured a harrowing ninth before closer Ben Joyce induced a double play to escape a bases-loaded jam, ending the game.
Kochanowicz gave up six hits, walked one and struck out two. He needed just 93 pitches to get 23 outs.
Kochanowicz, a 23-year-old right-hander, shot from Double-A to the majors last month. His first two big league starts didn’t go well, though. He gave up 12 runs (11 earned) in seven innings.
His opportunity came back because of the weather.
When the Angels’ game in New York was rained out on Tuesday, that created a hole in the rotation for Sunday. The Angels had been prepared to use starter Davis Daniel on three days rest — essentially making it a bullpen game.
Reliever José Marte came down with a viral infection, though, so the Angels put him on the injured list on Saturday. That allowed them to bring back Kochanowicz, who was a better alternative to start because he was fully rested.
On Sunday he zipped through the Nationals without any trouble for the first three innings, allowing only an infield hit. In the fourth, just after the Angels had staked him to a five-run lead, Kochanowicz gave up a leadoff double and then a walk.
That’s when manager Ron Washington came to the mound to give Kochanowicz a pep talk, just as Nationals cleanup hitter James Wood was coming to the plate.
Kochanowicz induced two straight grounders, the second of which the Angels converted for an inning-ending double play.
He didn’t have any more issues until allowing a homer in the eighth. Four batters later, he’d given up two more singles and a run. Right-hander Mike Baumann proceeded to walk the first two hitters he faced to load the bases. Baumann then got a flyout to escape with a 6-2 lead.
Joyce gave up a two runs in the ninth on three walks and two infield hits, finally getting out of it with a double play.
Fortunately for the Angels, they had some margin for error, thanks to an offensive built mostly on a season-high 13 walks. Four of them came around to score.
Three were in the fifth inning, when the Angels got a run on an error, a double play and Kevin Pillar’s three-run double.
In the seventh, the entire offense consisted of four walks, including Michael Stefanic’s with the bases loaded.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published: August 11, 2024 at 11:54 a.m.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/08/11/rookie-jack-kochanowicz-leads-angels-to-victory-over-nationals/