CINCINNATI -- If only every start could feel like Friday night for Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz.
Kochanowicz allowed just two hits and one run over seven innings while Zach Neto and Josh Lowe homered to lead the Angels to a 10-2 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Kochanowicz (2-0), coming off 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Seattle six days earlier, allowed only a pair of harmless singles to Eugenio Suárez and an RBI groundout to TJ Friedl. The Angels right-hander struck out two while working around four walks, tossing 95 pitches [53 strikes] over the seven frames.
Kochanowicz did his heaviest lifting in the fifth with the Reds threatening to make it a game. The Halos’ starter walked the bases loaded, as Will Benson, Tyler Stephenson and Ke’Bryan Hayes, the 7-8-9 hitters in the Cincinnati lineup, worked free passes. But Kochanowicz got Friedl to roll over a 96 mph sinker to first baseman Nolan Schanuel for the second out. Matt McLain grounded out to Neto at short for the third out.
“I will say this, I gave Neto the credit for the homer the inning before,” Kochanowicz said. “It took a lot of pressure off me being a 2-1 game versus a 4-1 game. I was never in a panic. I felt like I was in control the whole time. It was just a couple missed pitches. I mean, not a machine, but I felt like I was in control the whole time.”
“That's where the calmness and maybe the experience that Jack has helped him get through that,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “To be able to slow the game down where things can unravel quickly in this ballpark, especially. And I know the ball wasn't traveling much tonight, but things can unravel quickly. And I thought Jack did a great job of keeping his composure and executing pitches when he needed to.”
Jorge Soler belted his third career grand slam and the Angels’ third homer of the night in a five-run eighth to put the game away.
“It's huge. That was a complete ball game,” Lowe added. “It started with Jack taking the ball and on seven strong like he did. He's really efficient. He kept all the guys on defense, kept us on our toes, balls put in play, and then offensively, it’s not like we let off the gas the whole game. [We] played a whole game, top to bottom, and did our part.”
Jo Adell did it again for the Angels in the outfield. This time he didn’t rob a home run but the right fielder came charging in to make a terrific grab of a Stephenson pop foul in front of the tarp for the second out in the Cincinnati seventh. Friedl was the one robbing homers Friday as he leaped at the wall in right-center to keep a Mike Trout drive from landing in the seats leading off the third.
The Halos got to Cincinnati right-handed starter Chase Burns (1-1) for single runs in the second and third. Adam Frazier worked a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 lead and then an inning later, Yoán Moncada fought off a 98.6 mph fastball in on the hands to dump it to left, scoring Soler.
Burns didn’t get his fastball in enough to Neto in the fourth. He left another 98.6 mph fastball over the heart of the plate and Neto didn’t miss, driving it a Statcast-projected 417 feet to the grass berm in center to give Kochanowicz and the Angels a 4-0 lead.
“That's what we all like,” Kochanowicz said. “That's what we aim for. Games like that, 10-2 victories are ideal. And yeah, when they score like that, it definitely takes the pressure off of me to just go out there and attack and not worry about giving up a solo shot or anything like that. So it's awesome.”
“Their starter was upper-90’s fastball with two-seam movement,” said Cincinnati skipper Terry Francona, who said hitting coach Chris Valaika tried to coach his batters about Kochanowicz before the game. “Val talked to the guys before the game about trying to get him up and we weren’t able to accomplish that. And once you’re able to establish that down, that was really difficult for us.”