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    Patrick Sandoval ends personal losing streak, keeps Angels winning
    • June 17, 2023

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As Patrick Sandoval has endured a disappointing start to his season, one of the issues he faced was that the new pitch timer didn’t always allow him to get the pitch call that he wanted.

    So he eliminated that problem by using PitchCom to call his own pitches for the first time, on his way to a seven-inning performance in the Angels’ 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, snapping his five-game losing streak.

    “There were a couple times,” when Sandoval felt rushed or didn’t have time to get to the pitch he wanted, he said. “I wanted to eliminate that completely. I think it helped a lot.”

    Angels starters Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Anderson also call their own games, and Sandoval said he will continue doing it.

    Sandoval brought a 4.52 ERA into Friday’s start, which was a disappointment after he had a 3.17 ERA over the previous two seasons combined. Over his previous five starts, he had a 6.08 ERA and the Angels had lost every game.

    His previous outing was one of the Angels’ two losses in their previous 12 games, a hot streak that brought their record to 40-32. The Angels are now tied with both the Houston Astros and New York Yankees for a wild-card spot, and they are just 3½ games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.

    If the Angels are going to keep up this pace, they’ll need to see the Sandoval they have come to expect.

    “It’s huge,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “For where we want to go, Sandy’s a big key to this whole deal. I love the way he commanded the ball today.”

    Although this outing requires the disclaimer that the Royals (18-51) are one of the worst offensive teams in the majors and have now lost 10 straight, Sandoval nonetheless did what he needed to do.

    He gave up four hits and he walked four, striking out six. In the first and fifth innings, he allowed the first two batters to reach before getting a double play.

    By pitching seven innings, Sandoval was able to give most of the Angels’ overworked bullpen the night off. Rookie right-hander Sam Bachman handled the final two innings, picking up his first major league save.

    Sandoval and Bachman didn’t have much cushion because the Angels did little with their nine hits and five walks. They were 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

    Brandon Drury drove in two of the runs with a single in the first and a double in the sixth. Matt Thaiss drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Ohtani doubled and drew two walks, while Mike Trout singled and walked.

    The Angels also had two potential big innings scuttled by outs on the bases early in the game.

    In the first, they had runners at first and third with one out when Drury took off from first on the 3-and-2 pitch to Thaiss. Thaiss took a third strike and Drury was thrown out. In the third, Mickey Moniak took off from second too early when he was running on a pitch, and he was easily tagged out going to third.

    “Wasn’t our best game offensively,” Nevin said. “We made some mistakes on the bases, left some out there if you will. But overall, I thought Sandy was great, kept us in that one, and really gave our bullpen a rest.”

    Sandoval also helped prevent what Nevin acknowledged could have been a spot for a letdown after the emotions of winning a series in Texas against the first-place Rangers.

    “I gotta be honest with you, it was in the back of my mind,” Nevin said. “It’s an easy let-up game today. Just different atmospheres. I’m not taking anything away from (the Royals). This is major leagues. You’ve got to win them all, but  where we came from the last couple series. You know you can have a letdown game sometimes. This is one of those that probably sticks out for you. But I thought we answered well.”

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    ​ Orange County Register 

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