PITTSBURGH — Some extra velocity helped Ryan Johnson continue his hot stretch and deliver another quality start, but the Angels had no answers for Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones on Friday night at PNC Park and lost, 1-0.
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Johnson entered Friday as one of the Angels’ hottest pitchers, recording a 1.71 ERA over his five starts in August (26⅓ innings, five earned runs allowed). He turned in another solid outing, spinning six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts, and he did it with a little extra heat.
Both his sinker and sweeper were up by more than 2 mph compared to their season averages (94.4 mph compared to a 92.2 mph with his fastball and 82.5 mph vs. 80.4 mph with his breaking pitch),
“It’s nice to have it at this point of the year,” Johnson said with a smile when asked about that extra velocity. “Feels like I’m still in my stride and strong going into it.”
Manager Kurt Suzuki was complimentary of the work Johnson is putting in between starts, using everything from his bullpen sessions to flat-ground work to try to get better. That could make that extra velocity more sustainable moving forward.
“I think that’s who he is,” Suzuki said. “He’s found a nice routine for himself. You’re seeing velocity, the stuff, everything tick up. I think if we can keep that progression and keep it trending upward, then it’s going to be great.”
Johnson allowed four hits and walked two batters. He threw 89 pitches, 58 of them strikes, and his cutter was effective again, getting 11 called strikes and seven whiffs on 38 offerings.
Johnson has bounced between the rotation and bullpen in his young major league career, making 15 starts and 17 relief appearances thus far. This September is an opportunity for him to establish himself as part of the Angels’ future starting five.
“It’s still far from what I want to be doing,” Johnson said. “I want to have a full season long and be able to do it for years and years, not just a half-season, but this is a huge stride. It’s above what I’ve been able to do before, so this is great.”
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Johnson’ cutter gave the Pirates trouble all night, resulting in seven whiffs and 11 called strikes.
His lone blemish came in the second inning when Konnor Griffin was able to beat a relay throw to score from first base on a Jake Mangum double. That proved to be all the offense the Pirates needed.
Jones, a product of La Mirada High, tossed six scoreless innings, leaning heavily on his slider and getting 19 whiffs with his breaking ball. Since the advent of pitch tracking in 2008, the only pitcher to ever get more whiffs on a slider against the Angels was Dylan Cease on May 13, 2025, when he produced 21.
The Angels’ best chance against Jones came in the second inning when Vaughn Grissom and Moisés Ballesteros opened the frame with singles to put runners on the corners. Neither runner advanced, as Christian Moore popped out before Jose Siri and Adam Frazier struck out to end the inning. It was the only time the Angels had two men on base all night, and Grissom was the only base runner to reach scoring position.
Jones allowed just two more baserunners the rest of the night, finishing with three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts on his ledger.
“That’s a talented arm right there,” Johnson said of Jones. “Very good player. Our guys were still having good at-bats off of him. They put some pressure on him. They’re going to get him next time.”
Samy Natera Jr. was able to escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth to keep the Angels in it and Mike Trout opened the ninth with a single off of Mason Montgomery, but Wade Meckler popped out on a two-strike bunt attempt, Grissom flew out and pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud struck out looking to end it. Montgomery earned his ninth save of the season in the process.
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