Walbert Ureña implodes as Angels drop series opener against Athletics
Sergio Gonzalez
Host · Writer
On a night that started with an abrupt front office decision, Los Angeles Angels’ starter Walbert Ureña saw an abrupt end to an outing after a disastrous fifth inning led to a 9-3 loss against the Athletics on Friday.
Just an hour before the game, the Angels announced they fired General Manager Perry Minasian, appointing John Mozeliak as Baseball Operations Consultant and Interim General Manager. That did not change much of Friday’s result in a hefty loss.
In the midst of an absurd stretch, Ureña finally had his breaking point on the mound. The rookie starter, who has silently been one of the Angels’ most efficient rotation arms, had not allowed more than three runs in a start in a game since April 25th — until it happened in one inning on Friday.
Ureña looked electric through the first four innings against the A’s. He tossed four perfect frames on just 36 pitches, looking on track for a lengthy start until he started the fifth inning shaky.
Heading into the frame up 1-0, two immediate walks from Ureña led to a jam that was followed by six consecutive singles from the A’s offense, booting the right-hander from the game after a 35-pitch inning. Suddenly owning a six-run lead, the Athletics did not look back from that point on.
Ureña’s final line of seven earned runs over 4 ⅓ innings marked his worst start yet this season. Entering the game with a 2.41 ERA, he saw his totals inflate to 3.14.
Offensively, the Angels did not do much to counter the A’s big inning, as eight of their nine starters struck out at the plate in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jo Adell trimmed the A’s lead with a two-run homer off starter J.T. Ginn, his 11th long ball of the season. Ginn had a solid go-around in his start, allowing three runs over six innings.
Down 9-3 in the eighth inning, the Angels made things interesting in loading the bases with one out. However, the chance diminished quickly as Logan O’Hoppe and Christian Moore struck out to end the threat as the Angels would go down without much of a fight.
The Angels will look to bounce back from the series-opening loss on Saturday when they send Reid Detmers to the mound, who struggled against the A’s in his last outing. Despite completing six innings, the southpaw allowed five earned runs in Sacramento, but has been very efficient over the last month.
