ARLINGTON, Texas — The test for Jack Kochanowicz and the Angels is now going to be if they can undo the damage done by this nightmare season.
Recalled from Triple-A to make a spot start, Kochanowicz was charged with 11 runs in the Angels’ 20-3 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night. The Rangers scored the final eight runs with Angels infielder Oswald Peraza on the mound.
After becoming the first Angels pitcher to allow 11 or more runs since 2010, Kochanowicz has a 6.81 ERA.
Kochanowicz started 23 games in the majors this season, and it would be a surprise if he started another. He’s already been sent to the minors twice.
Kochanowicz got this opportunity because the Angels decided to give left-hander Tyler Anderson an extra day on paternity leave and they believed that Kochanowicz was more rested than right-hander Caden Dana, who threw 99 pitches for Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.
If this was the end of Kochanowicz’s major league season, the Angels will need to spend the time between now and spring training rebuilding his confidence and helping him solve whatever physical issues left him so ineffective.
They have seen the 25-year-old perform well.
Last year, he posted a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts, including a 2.78 ERA in nine starts after a brief demotion to Triple-A. That was enough to earn him a spot in the rotation out of spring training, even though he and Reid Detmers performed similarly in Arizona.
Since the season began, Kochanowicz has shown few glimpses of the pitcher he was last year.
To put it simply, he’s thrown too many balls over the middle of the plate.
On Wednesday night, Kochanowicz gave up nine hits, including three home runs and two doubles. Five of those came on pitches essentially right over the middle of the plate.
Adolis Garcia got a first-pitch sweeper over the middle of the plate and he pounded it over the fence for a three-run homer in the first, quickly putting to rest the notion that Kochanowicz might be better this time.
Joc Pederson’s three-run homer in the second inning came on a changeup that was just below the zone. Even though it wasn’t a strike, it was still probably too high against a left-handed power hitter.
The Rangers hit 10 balls at more than 100 mph against Kochanowicz, including four that were outs.
The Angels tried to get as much as they could out of Kochanowicz, in part because the bullpen had worked four innings the night before and also to give him the opportunity to take something positive from the game.
He couldn’t even get out of the fourth, though. He gave up his third homer of the game, followed by three straight hits, before the Angels pulled the plug.
Left-hander Andrew Chafin, right-hander Robert Stephenson and right-hander José Fermin pitched before the Angels turned the game over to position players. Peraza, pitching for the second time in a week, only recorded one out and gave up eight runs. First baseman Niko Kavadas got the final four outs.
The Angels gave up 20 runs for the first time since 2018, coming up one run shy of the franchise record.
Although the game was lost early, the Angels hitters didn’t even do much to pad their stats against the Rangers, who deployed a bullpen game.
Jo Adell drove in his 82nd run of the season with a first-inning double. Christian Moore hit his fourth homer of the season. Zach Neto had two doubles.
Mike Trout went 0 for 4 with a strikeout, extended his home run drought to 17 games. It’s the fourth-longest streak of his career.
More to come on this story.