Rare stumble doesn't wipe smile off Ureña after faceoff with an idol

MIAMI – Something that Walbert Ureña has been most satisfied with in his progress in his first Major League season is the maturity he has developed.

“I have stayed humble in all moments and my faith, believing that God can do all,” Ureña said in Spanish. “I have stayed with my feet on the ground and tried to enjoy the game more.”

That was no different in his shortest outing of the season in the Angels' 7-0 loss to the Marlins on Saturday at loanDepot park. This time, Ureña was able to find some joy in the game because he got to pitch opposite fellow Dominican right-hander Sandy Alcantara, whom he has looked up to and followed for many years.

“He’s one of my favorite pitchers,” Ureña said. “I think he is a really good person, his presence on the mound and off the field, too. He is one of the [people] that I want to meet.”

The smile might have also been due to the maturity and growth his manager, Kurt Suzuki, has credited to his young right-hander since Ureña joined the rotation on April 19.

“When things kind of start wavering a little bit for him, he's able to just command his composure,” Suzuki said on Friday. “He’s able to get everything back on track really fast and not let things snowball. … He did it in a quick quick turnaround, too. It wasn't very long in the Minor Leagues, so it was impressive for him to do that so quickly.”

What Suzuki saw from Ureña on Saturday was a little bit of both the Marlins putting together quality at-bats, working counts and fouling off pitches; and Ureña struggling to consistently locate his pitches.

“He got a little erratic with his pitches," Suzuki said. “But I think they were having good at-bats on him, too … working the count, so just got his pitch caught up a little bit in that [third] inning.”

Ureña allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two over 2 1/3 innings.

The rough third inning was particularly uncharacteristic of Ureña, who had been pitching well. He was 2-1 with a 0.98 ERA over his previous five starts, allowing three earned runs over 27 2/3 innings. His 2.54 ERA on the season increased to 2.83 following Saturday's outing.

Ureña's command has been an issue throughout his rookie season. His 4.7 walks per nine innings entering Saturday ranked third worst among 127 pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched this year.

That issue surfaced in the third inning.

Ureña allowed a leadoff single to Owen Caissie before issuing a walk to No. 9 hitter Javier Sanoja. He then allowed another free pass to Jakob Marsee before Xavier Edwards delivered a two-run double that gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead. Edwards' ball came off the bat at 90.3 mph and was hit to left field, allowing Sanoja and Caissie to score.

Ureña then issued his third walk of the inning, this one to Kyle Stowers, setting up a two-run single by Otto Lopez that chased him from the game. Lopez's single was not hit particularly hard, either, coming off the bat at 80.6 mph.

While Ureña's command allowed the Marlins to extend the inning and eventually score four runs, the rookie right-hander did not give up a barrage of hard contact.

“I try to stay calm every time making pitches,” Ureña said. “But today wasn't the best. A couple walks, and they find every hole in the infield, a couple of soft contact [hits], so can't control that.”

Out of his 50 pitches (30 strikes), Ureña relied heavily on his changeup, throwing it 19 times and generating a 46% whiff rate against the Marlins. It has been his most consistent pitch this season, with Ureña throwing 543 changeups and opponents batting .157 against it.

“[I thought my changeup] was very good,” Ureña said. “I think the pitches weren’t bad. Maybe there were some that I should’ve thrown with more frequency, like my changeup, but it’s things that happen.”

Ureña’s approach to improving his command is something that will continue in the bullpen and the drawing room every day.

“That has been something that I have been working on for years past,” Ureña said. “That has been the thing that I have worked on the most. Every year I have been trying, and I think I have minimized it, but it is still part of me.

“But I will work every day until I get control of that.”