Angels lefties a study in contrast vs. Astros

ANAHEIM -- Lefties Samuel Aldegheri and José Suarez both know how important pitching well down the stretch is for them heading into next season.

Aldegeri, acquired in the deal that sent closer Carlos Estévez to the Phillies at the Trade Deadline, made his third career start but struggled in the Angels’ 5-3 loss to the Astros in the series opener on Friday night at Angel Stadium.

Suarez, called up on Monday to pitch in long relief, excelled in the role for a second straight outing. He threw four scoreless frames after he hurled three scoreless innings against the Twins on Monday.

The two performances showed the importance of getting the ball over the plate. Only 26 of Aldegheri’s 53 pitches were strikes, while Suarez was in the zone on 40 of his 55 offerings.

“I wasn’t able to find the zone, so it of course made everything harder,” Aldegheri said. “It was just a bad day. That’s it.”

Each player is in a different part of his career. Aldegheri, 22, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the club’s No. 8 prospect and is trying to make an impact in his first taste of the big leagues. Suarez, 26, is a former top prospect attempting to pitch his way onto the roster next year after struggling early in the season.

Aldegheri, the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to reach the Majors, was coming off his first career win. He allowed one run over six innings against the Rangers on Sept. 6. But he had trouble against Houston, surrendering four runs on six hits and five walks over two-plus innings.

“I’m going to meet with the pitching coach tomorrow and talk about what didn't work tonight,” Aldegheri said. “And make sure that I'm going to bounce back in my next outing.”

Aldegheri had trouble from the start, loading the bases with two outs in the first inning after issuing two walks. But he got Alex Bregman to pop up to escape the jam. The lefty wasn’t as fortunate in the second, when he loaded the bases with one out. He walked Jose Altuve on four pitches to bring home the game’s first run before Yordan Alvarez added a sacrifice fly. Aldegheri got out of the inning on a hard-hit lineout from Yainer Diaz to third base.

It was more of the same in the third, as Aldegheri gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Tucker before serving up a two-run homer by Bregman on a first-pitch fastball. Aldegheri then gave up a double to Jeremy Pe?a and walked Victor Caratini, which ended his night. Reliever Ryan Miller cleaned up the mess and didn’t allow the two inherited runners to score.

“He just couldn’t find his command,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Aldegheri. “He couldn't hit his spots, couldn't throw any pitch he had with any consistency. He had just as many balls as he had strikes. That's not him. His command, he just didn't have it tonight.”

Suarez was summoned to give the Angels some length and keep them in the game, and he did just that. He scattered five hits and struck out five.

It was a good sign for Suarez, who is out of Minor League options and is eligible for salary arbitration for a second time this offseason. He could be a non-tender candidate given his struggles this year, but he has had success in the Majors in the past and the Angels like his stuff.

Suarez had a combined 3.86 ERA in 207 1/3 innings across 2021 and ’22 but had an 8.29 ERA in 33 2/3 innings last year and has a 6.80 ERA in 42 1/3 innings this season. He’s making $950,000 this year.

“He's been great,” Washington said of Suarez since his return. “He's been exactly what we wanted him to be in the beginning of the year. Come in, lengthen the game -- and he did it. He lengthened it for us, and he did a tremendous job to a pretty good lineup. So I'm glad he's back.”