ANAHEIM — The Angels may have found another starting pitcher.
They couldn’t find enough runs to get him a victory, though.
Walbert Ureña gave up two runs in six innings in his first big league start, but the Angels still lost, 2-1, to the Padres on Sunday.
In the moments after the game ended, manager Kurt Suzuki wasn’t ready to commit to keeping Ureña in the rotation the next turn, although he acknowledged his outing was impressive.
“We’ve got to talk about it,” Suzuki said. “The way he pitched today was pretty good.”
It was nonetheless a loss for the Angels (11-12), because they had only had two hits and only scored one run in the seventh on a Zach Neto groundout. That inning began with two on and no outs, but the Angels couldn’t take advantage.
The quiet offensive day spoiled Ureña’s outing.
The Angels tweaked their rotation to give Ureña the ball on Sunday, allowing an extra day of rest for both Reid Detmers and Jack Kochanowicz. Ureña — or someone else — was going to have to pitch one of the days of the upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays anyway. The Angels have been scrambling to the fill the No. 5 spot ever since Ryan Johnson went on the injured list with an illness and subsequent hamstring issue.
For Ureña, it marked a second chance after his rough big league debut as a reliever a few weeks ago. He was sent back down after one nightmarish outing when he gave up six unearned runs.
Ureña, 22, went down to Triple-A as a starter, and he returned looking much better.
“I was never a reliever, so that was new for me,” Ureña said. “I was trying to get my routine as a reliever, but I got back to Salt Lake and I started again. I think my best thing is starting.”
Ureña threw 92 pitches, including 56 strikes. He threw 36 changeups, including six of the 13 whiffs he induced. His fastball — both his four-seamer and sinker — reached 100 mph in the first inning.
“He was awesome,” Suzuki said. “His fastball command, he was attacking the zone. Changeup was really good. Mixed in some breaking balls but for the most part he was just attacking them, making them swing the bat. If he’s in the zone I think he’s going to be tough to hit.”
Ureña struck out eight, and he didn’t walk anyone until he took the mound in the seventh, which was something of a surprising decision. Ureña was at 83 pitches after six. Although he had retired seven hitters in a row since allowing a run in the fourth, his velocity was trending down. His average fastball in the sixth was 97 mph, after starting the game at 100 mph.
“We felt like he was throwing the ball really well,” Suzuki said. “Me and (pitching coach Mike Maddux) were talking about it, down by one, see if he can get us one more inning. We liked the way he was throwing. He said he was feeling good. He was built up. He threw 85 pitches his last start (in Triple-A). We liked the way he was throwing.”
Ureña, however, admitted that he was getting tired.
“I was good when I came out for the seventh, but after I threw a couple of pitches, yeah, I get a little bit tired,” he said.
Ureña ended up walking the first two hitters he faced in the seventh. Right-hander Sam Bachman retired the first two hitters before giving up a ground ball through the left side, knocking in the second run charged to Ureña.
The extra run turned out to be the difference in the game.
The Angels didn’t generate much offense, and two outs on the bases didn’t help.
In the first, the Angels had runners at the corners with one out, when Nolan Schanuel tried to steal second. He went too early, and the Padres easily nailed him at second.
Suzuki said the Angels believed they had timed Michael King’s delivery, but King held the ball a little longer this time. First base coach Adam Eaton told Suzuki it was “perfect timing” by King. “He said it’s the first time all year that he’s held the ball that long, so he got us.”
In the third, Neto was caught stealing second, ending the inning with Mike Trout at the plate.
Although the Angels scored just two runs in the final two games of the series, losing both, Suzuki still took solace in the work of the starters. José Soriano, Yusei Kikuchi and Ureña all pitched well.
“It’s definitely a positive,” Suzuki said. “Good starting pitching keeps you in the game. We had a chance to win every game. We held these guys to six runs in three games. That’s a really good team over there. Pitching was awesome.”