TEMPE, Ariz. -- A tight rotation battle may be nearing its conclusion, and Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz is making it hard for Los Angeles to look elsewhere after another standout performance.
Kochanowicz made his case in Wednesday’s 7-4 win against the Reds at Tempe Diablo Stadium, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. He threw 92 pitches, struck out six and walked three.
With his performance, Kochanowicz may have pitched his way into the Angels' Opening Day roster. With the battle for the fifth starter spot hitting the final week of Spring Training, the 6-foot-7 right-hander looked less like a project and more like a solution.
Thus far in Spring Training, Kochanowicz has posted a 1.98 ERA over 13 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. This has been a significant statement in a rotation battle that has remained open, especially as Alek Manoah has struggled to find his footing this spring.
“It's definitely been good. More than anything, I've been getting the right kind of at-bats. I want to be able to get a lot of early contact,” Kochanowicz said. “Strikeouts are fun, but I want to get through innings. So that’s been good, and more than anything, the ball is coming out how I want.”
Kochanowicz recorded at least one strikeout in every inning, with his most efficient stretch coming in the third. He opened the frame by striking out Edwin Arroyo on a 90.1 mph changeup up in the zone and finished the inning with another changeup to JJ Bleday at 88.9 mph.
“Credit to [catcher] Travis [d’Arnaud] for just reading the game. Just keeping them off balance all the time,” Kochanowicz said. “The changeup was the one working today.”
The changeup was a key part of his mix, generating four of his six strikeouts. He primarily has worked off his sinker and four-seam fastball, with the changeup mixing in as his fourth most used out of five pitches in his arsenal.
While Kochanowicz was efficient at home, Johnson was matching him pitch-for-pitch in Maryvale, turning in a nearly identical line of five innings with only one run allowed on four hits against the Brewers. For the spring, Johnson has a 3.78 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.
"We've got good problems, we've got to make tough decisions," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. "Those two guys have been pitching unbelievably this whole spring. So kudos to them and way to make it hard on us."
While the numbers suggest Kochanowicz is the frontrunner, he is making a point to ignore the external competition. For him, the challenge now isn't just about his "stuff," because it’s about staying present in the work that has him on the doorstep of cracking the rotation to open the season.
"I'm just thinking about myself," Kochanowicz said of the roster race. "That's the only productive way to go about it. My job is to execute pitches. ... I kind of just always have to keep the blinders up besides that."