Less is more? Simplified approach has Angels' rotation thriving

ARLINGTON -- Only time will tell if the Angels have found something with a starting rotation that has been exceptional since the team parted ways with pitching coach Mike Maddux.

Entering play Sunday, Angels starters have a 1.51 ERA over 65 2/3 innings since Aug. 11, including seven quality starts. On the current road trip, they have a 0.84 ERA over 32 innings.

Even more impressive, the rotation hasn’t allowed an earned run in six of the past nine games.

That otherworldly trend almost certainly won’t continue.

Nor will the competition, which has been mixed. Eight of the past 11 games since Maddux’s exit have been against Texas and Kansas City, both below-average offensive clubs in terms of runs and OPS.

The rotation also handled a potent Houston lineup, limiting the Astros to three earned runs over 19 innings.

The most dominant outings have come from Reid Detmers, George Klassen and Ryan Johnson.

Detmers allowed two hits and struck out 11 over eight scoreless innings against Kansas City on Aug. 15, then worked six scoreless innings against Texas on Friday. Klassen held Houston to one hit while striking out seven over a career-high seven scoreless innings on Tuesday.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki believes simplicity is the key to the surge, an apparent contradiction in an era awash in information.

“Sometimes, we get caught up in doing all these reports, and it’s a lot of information,” Suzuki said before Sunday’s series finale at Texas. “So we try to simplify it a little bit, especially for the younger guys, and just show them and tell them what they do really well -- and then make it better.”

The topic came up after Saturday's 3-0 victory over Texas. Los Angeles was again the beneficiary of a good start from Johnson, who pitched seven scoreless innings and walked only two.

The right-hander has leaned more heavily on his cutter and used his sinker less frequently over his past two starts, an adjustment Suzuki said plays to Johnson's strengths.

Over his last two starts, Johnson is 1-1 with a 1.46 ERA, allowing two earned runs on six hits over 12⅓ innings, with four walks and seven strikeouts. His WHIP is 0.81.

The Angels activated lefty Yusei Kikuchi on Sunday after an almost four-month stint on the IL with left shoulder inflammation. In a corresponding move, right-hander Michael Fulmer was designated for assignment.

That roster move leaves the Angels with six starters and, eventually, a decision to make.

Upcoming off-days will complicate the six-man arrangement, potentially requiring the Angels to skip a starter, reorder the rotation or eventually return to five starters.

“It gets tricky,” Suzuki said. “We haven't gotten to that point of kind of figuring that out. And besides which, I think that's more for the upstairs. The guys in the front office can kind of figure out the math on that one, but it is going to get tricky. Once we kind of put our brains together, we'll kind of figure out what’s best moving forward.”