ANAHEIM -- It could’ve gotten ugly real fast for right-hander Ryan Johnson on Saturday night.
Facing one of the hottest lineups in baseball in August, it appeared Johnson was in for a short night when he needed 60 pitches to get through the first two innings -- with 30 of them being balls -- and walked four batters. Amidst the heavy traffic, he was able to miraculously escape trouble with only one run put on the board.
Johnson settled in afterward, and ended up delivering five innings of one-run ball in the Angels’ 4-2 loss against the Phillies in 10 innings at Angel Stadium.
“Once he settled in, it was pretty efficient,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “I think that's the maturation process. I think the experience that he's gaining through these moments, and battling through that tough time.”
The main issue for Johnson in this one was the lack of command in his secondary offerings. His cutter was in the strike zone 57% of the time, but his sweeper and splitter were at 28% and 33%, respectively, per Statcast.
“I think maybe in the beginning, maybe trying to be too perfect,” Suzuki said. “Whatever it was, [interim pitching coach Tim Leveque] talked to him and they kind of figured it out. He got more aggressive, and his stuff started playing better and he gave us what we needed.”
After walking two consecutive batters with one out in the first inning, Johnson executed a cutter low and away to get Luis Arraez to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Things really got hairy in the second.
A leadoff single, a walk and then a single by former Angel Brandon Marsh scored the first run of the game. Johnson struck out the next batter, but walked nine-hole hitter Justin Crawford to load the bases with only one out for the top of the Phillies order.
The ever-dangerous Kyle Schwarber launched a ball deep into the Anaheim night, but it barely hooked foul. Schwarber flied out to shallow left field on the next pitch.
Then with a 3-2 count on Trea Turner, Johnson also got him to fly out to shallow left to get out of the jam.
Johnson put it in cruise control from there, needing just 28 pitches to get through three more scoreless innings. The only baserunner he allowed was a one-out walk in the fourth.
“I think it was just my body getting more on time and in sync,” Johnson said of the adjustment he made after the second inning. “Trying to be a little bit more closed off with the hip, as opposed to kind of flying open and having my arm lag a little bit.”
His final line was one earned run on two hits over five innings -- but with five walks.
Johnson entered the month of August with a 7.63 ERA on the season. In five starts this month, he pitched to a 1.71 ERA to lower his season ERA to 5.47.
“I feel like I've definitely made some strides in progress over the last month, and getting comfortable in what I do well,” Johnson said. “Catchers are getting to know me well, and they're calling a great game. I feel like there's good chemistry back there.”
Johnson and the bullpen kept the Angels within striking distance, and Zach Neto took advantage.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Neto fouled off seven pitches and drilled a solo shot into the Angels’ bullpen on the 12th pitch of the at-bat to tie the game.
“Just trying to end at-bats when they're supposed to,” Neto said. “I got a good couple pitches to hit, but had to keep battling and sticking to the approach, and I got something up and I was able to hit it.”
Neto’s 23rd home run of the season snapped a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Angels.
In the 10th, right-hander Trevor Martin allowed three runs on three hits. The Angels knocked in a run in the bottom half on a fielder’s choice, but that was all they could muster.
The Angels lost their sixth consecutive game, all by two runs or fewer.
“We're fighting,” Neto said. “We've been fighting all year and it's just not going our way right now, but we're not [going to] cry about it, moan about it. We're [going to] flip the switch here at midnight, and come in tomorrow and try to avoid a sweep.”