ANAHEIM — While the Angels wait to see what’s going to happen with two of their top starters, the third continues to give them hope for the future.
Read more Family of man who suffered fatal injury at Long Beach music festival seeks answers
Rookie right-hander Walbert Ureña won the duel against Milwaukee Brewers sensation Jacob Misiorowski in the Angels’ 3-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Ureña worked six innings, striking out seven. Misiorowski was also dominant, with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, but he gave up a two-run homer to Wade Meckler in the second inning.
The Angels’ bullpen was able to protect the lead over the final three innings. Right-handers Luke Murphy, Sam Bachman and Ryan Zeferjahn handled the final nine outs, completing a victory that snapped a five-game losing streak.
Bachman recorded just one out in the eighth before leaving the game with a trainer. There was no immediate word on what was wrong.
The focus will now shift to Monday’s trade deadline, with pitchers Reid Detmers and José Soriano and shortstop Zach Neto as the main characters. The Angels (43-69) could also trade outfielder Jo Adell, designated hitter Jorge Soler or any number of relievers.
Ureña, it’s safe to say, isn’t going anywhere. He just made his major league debut this season, so there’s no reason for the Angels to consider trading a 22-year-old with a 2.54 ERA.
Read more Galaxy and FC Dallas settle for scoreless draw
Ureña got to show his stuff in a nationally televised matchup with Misiorowski, and it started out exactly like you would expect.
In the first inning, each of them struck out the side on 10 pitches.
Misiorowski, the hardest-throwing pitcher in the sport, reached 100 mph with 28 pitches, which was actually low for him. His average fastball was 99.6 mph, down from 100.6 coming into the game.
Ureña hit 100 mph just four times, averaging 98.2 mph.
Ureña’s only rough inning was the third. He walked two and gave up a hit. But the first runner was erased when catcher Travis d’Arnaud threw him out trying to steal second base. Ureña got out of the inning with a comebacker.
The Brewers (69-42) only had two singles against Ureña over the next three innings.
Neto drove in an insurance run with an infield single in the bottom of the eighth. He had been in a 3-for-30 slump before that hit.
More to come on this story.