LOS ANGELES -- It was a solid outing for Angels right-hander Jaime Barria in his third start of the season, but it ended on a sour note.
Barria pitched into the seventh inning against the Dodgers but gave up a game-tying homer to Cody Bellinger in an eventual 5-3 loss in the second game of the Freeway Series on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Barria, though, bounced back from a shaky first inning to keep the Angels in it, allowing three runs on six hits over six-plus innings.
“A little shaky in the beginning, but he pitched really well," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "The pitch to Bellinger, there were other options we could've done. It wasn't the best option and he didn't miss it. But up to that point, I loved the way he battled. And everything about it. We lost a tough game to a really good team, and we're becoming one [ourselves]. I just love the vibe and fight and growth of our young players."
Barria, 25, has taken advantage of his recent move into the rotation on July 25, as he's pitched into the seventh inning all three of his starts. He's posted a 2.29 ERA over 19 2/3 innings over that stretch, which has been encouraging for a rotation leaning on young starters such as Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and José Suarez in addition to Barria.
Barria, however, found himself in trouble early, walking the first batter he faced in Trea Turner before giving up an RBI double to Max Muncy. Corey Seager brought in a second run with an RBI single to left with the infield in.
But Barria shook it off and was mostly efficient the rest of the way. The Angels took the lead with a three-run third -- keyed by doubles from David Fletcher and José Iglesias -- and Barria threw a shutdown inning in the bottom of the frame against the top of the Dodgers’ order.
"I felt good about the way I bounced back,” Barria said through an interpreter. “I really need to work on being more aggressive in my bullpens, so it'll translate to the first inning. I've been getting off to slow starts."
The Angels could've pinch-hit for Barria in the sixth, but he had thrown only 74 pitches through five innings, so he remained in the game.
Barria responded with a 1-2-3 sixth inning and came back out for the seventh to face Bellinger with lefty reliever José Quijada warming up. Barria fell behind in the count and, on his 89th pitch of the night, he left a hanging slider over the plate that Bellinger delivered over the right-field fence for a game-tying homer.
Maddon explained his rationale for keeping Barria in the game as being that the Angels were without key relievers Raisel Iglesias and Austin Warren and he wanted Barria to try to pitch deeper into the game. Barria, though, missed his spot with his slider; he was trying to throw it inside, but it leaked over the plate.
"I liked it,” Maddon said of the matchup. “Barria just didn't make the right pitch at the right moment. That's all. Bellinger had been struggling. And our bullpen was short, so the deeper Barria went, the better off we were. In my mind, there was no reason to pull him at that point. But after [the homer], I took him out because I thought it might be difficult for him to keep his composure."
Reliever Junior Guerra pitched the eighth inning and surrendered a two-run double to Chris Taylor that proved to be the difference. It came after two-way star Shohei Ohtani came to the plate as a pinch-hitter with two runners on in the top of the inning but struck out on a 102 mph fastball from reliever Brusdar Graterol.
And even though it didn’t go the Angels’ way, it was the kind of opportunity Maddon was looking for with Ohtani, who is relegated to pinch-hitting duty this series because of National League rules.
"They chose to pitch him and that's all we can ask for,” Maddon said. “It was the right moment. And we had the opportunity. Graterol has thrown the ball extremely well. That's a lightning bolt coming out of his hand. That was a classic matchup."