ANAHEIM — Caden Dana is learning what it takes to be a successful big league pitcher.
He’s learning the hard way.
The Angels’ 20-year-old top prospect gave up five runs in a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon.
It came on the heels of a rough game last week against the Texas Rangers. Dana has now allowed 10 runs while recording just 13 outs in his last two starts, a couple of performances that have now overshadowed the victory he earned in his big league debut.
Dana retired the first six Astros hitters, but it was a struggle after that. He allowed a homer to Jason Heyward in the third. In the fourth, Dana walked Kyle Tucker and then gave up hits to four of the next five hitters, ending his day.
His final line showed five hits, two walks and a hit batter.
Dana reached the big leagues after he had a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A. His first start against the Seattle Mariners was encouraging. He gave up two runs in six innings.
The next two games, against the Rangers and Astros, ballooned his ERA to 10.45. If he remains on the same schedule, his last two starts of the season would be against the Astros and Rangers again.
One of Dana’s issues on Sunday was falling behind in the count. He got a first strike to just eight of the 18 hitters he faced. The hits he allowed were all on fastballs over the heart of the plate.
Trailing 5-0 in the fourth, the Angels were in too deep of a hole for their patchwork lineup.
Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco shut out the Angels over six innings, allowing just four hits.
The Angels made the game interesting in the final two innings. Taylor Ward hit his 24th homer in the eighth inning, and the Angels scored three runs in the ninth before Zach Neto struck out, representing the tying run, to end it.
The Angels (60-89) have lost five in a row and seven of their last eight. They have also lost 25 of their last 34 games.
More to come on this story.
Related Articles
Ben Joyce gets a clean MRI, but Angels still shut him down for the rest of the season
Angels come up short against Astros, lose fourth straight
Angels’ José Soriano says he’s not concerned about his future after this season ends early
Angels’ Sam Aldegheri gets hit hard in 3rd major-league start
Angels rookie Niko Kavadas adjusts to major league pitching