OC Register: Andrew Heaney allows 7 runs in Angels’ loss to White Sox

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — The Angels’ 12-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday night was ugly at the beginning and the end, with one encouraging nugget buried in the middle.

Andrew Heaney had a rough start, allowing seven runs and putting the Angels’ in a six-run hole. They came back with five runs over two innings to make it a game, before the White Sox blew it open again with five runs in the top of the ninth.

All the good vibes from their season-opening victory on Thursday were not lost, though.

Angels fans could take some solace in the impressive major league debut for Chris Rodriguez, who struck out three in two scoreless innings. Rodriguez averaged 97.6 mph with his fastball in the 27-pitch outing.

It was a more than a routine big league debut for Rodriguez, who had missed most of 2018 and 2019 with a back injury. Last year he didn’t pitch because there was no minor league season. He had never pitched above Class-A before the Angels made the surprising decision to put him on the Opening Day roster.

His performance was much better than the start for Heaney.

Heaney cruised through the White Sox order in the first two innings, with his fastball hitting 95.2 mph. It was the hardest pitch he’d thrown since 2019. He hit 94 mph seven times in the first two innings, after doing it only nine times last season.

Heaney, however, stopped throwing the fastball as much when he got into the second time through the White Sox order. He threw 28 fastballs out of 40 pitches to the first nine hitters, but only 14 of 30 pitches the second time through.

The second time through was when most of the damage happened, including a José Abreu grand slam on a first-pitch changeup in the third.

After striking out Yoan Moncada to get out of the third, Heaney allowed the first three hitters to reach in the fourth, ending his night.

Related Articles

• Angels’ Ty Buttrey on restricted list after choosing not to report to alternate site
• MLB moving All-Star Game, draft out of Atlanta over law restricting voting rights
• Angels delight fans with late rally for Opening Day victory
• New GM Perry Minasian has put his stamp on Angels in short order
• Albert Pujols equals record by being in Angels’ Opening Day lineup

Down 7-1, the Angels got three runs back quickly on an Albert Pujols’ three-run homer – the 663rd of his career – in the fourth. In the fifth, Anthony Rendon hit a fly ball down the right field line and Adam Eaton whiffed it, for a three-base error that allowed two runs to score.

That was as close as the Angels could get though.

The White Sox intentionally walked Pujols – putting the go-ahead run on base – in the eighth, but then closer Liam Hendriks got José Iglesias on a deep fly ball to end the inning.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run in the ninth.

More to come on this story.

View the full article