ANAHEIM -- Right-hander George Klassen displayed why he’s considered such a highly touted pitching prospect, as he delivered the best outing of his young career against the Rangers on Wednesday.
Klassen went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk to pick up his first career win in a 5-2 victory at Angel Stadium. Klassen had previously made three starts in the big leagues, but had never gone more than four frames and had a 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings.
Ranked as the club’s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Klassen looked much sharper against Texas. The 24-year-old ran into some early trouble, but settled down and was mostly efficient, needing 87 pitches to record 18 outs. His four-seamer averaged 96 mph and registered three swings and misses, while his 90.5 mph slider generated seven whiffs and his 86.9 mph changeup got four whiffs, per Statcast.
He struggled with his control with two outs in the second inning, loading the bases after he hit No. 9 hitter Nicky Lopez with a 1-1 slider. He then walked Joc Pederson on seven pitches to bring home the game’s first run, but got out of the jam by getting Brandon Nimmo to hit a comebacker on a first-pitch fastball.
Klassen also gave up a solo homer to Corey Seager in the third on a 2-2 slider that caught too much of the plate. But he got stronger as the game went on and his control improved, as he didn’t walk a batter after that shaky second inning. He also faced the minimum over his final three frames, giving up a single in the fifth that was erased by a double play.