ATLANTA -- Tyler Anderson is probably glad June is over.
After going 0-3 with a 6.93 ERA (19 earned runs in 24 2/3 innings) in his five June starts, Anderson started July with one of his best starts of the season in the Angels' 4-0 win over the Braves on Tuesday at Truist Park.
Anderson posted six scoreless innings and allowed just four hits, tying his season high with seven strikeouts.
“It definitely feels good,” Anderson said. “Our guys have been playing good baseball, so I feel like I’ve been letting them down. Trying to get in a good spot and give our guys a chance to win is all you’re trying to do.”
Anderson helped the Angels to their fifth win in seven days to give Los Angeles (42-42) a chance to be a game over .500 on Wednesday for the first time since they were 11-10 on April 20.
“That’s about what we’ve seen for the last three years,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said of Anderson. “[He was] just grinding through it and making pitches. He was just changing speeds and was in complete control, for me, the whole game.”
It was the second time this year Anderson has posted six scoreless frames, also accomplishing the feat in a win against the Giants on April 18.
“It just felt like my delivery was in a better spot and [I had] better aggression, making better pitches in general,” Anderson said. “[I was just executing] at a better level.”
Anderson struck out Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. four times. Prior to Tuesday, Acuña was 2-for-7 with five RBIs and a home run against Anderson.
“I know [Acuña] is a really good hitter, so I was just trying to make good pitches against him,” Anderson said. “He’s had a good history against me and [has] done some damage against me, so I just try to attack him.”
Montgomery added: “A veteran knows what he wants to do in every situation. I thought the sequences to Acuña were great, doubling up on the heater. [Anderson] is reading swings. He had a really good night.”
Anderson threw his fastball and changeup 33.3% of the time while mixing in his cutter with 21% of his total pitches.
“Using [the fastball and changeup] and then mixing the cutter in [was effective],” Anderson said. “[I was] just trying to use all three pitches to everybody, righties and lefties. I was just trying to get ahead [in counts].”
The Braves got runners to second and third in the first inning, and Anderson gave up a leadoff triple to Michael Harris II in the fifth inning, but Anderson stranded every runner.
“I was just [paying] attention to the guys that were up and making good pitches and not worrying about how the guys got on base or where they were at,” Anderson said. “I was just worrying about the guy [I’m facing] and trying to make good pitches to him. Obviously I had good defense behind me, so that helps a lot.”
Though Anderson didn’t get any run support as the game was scoreless through seven innings, the Angels got to the Braves’ bullpen with four runs on four hits (three doubles) in the top of the eighth, sending nine batters to the plate.
Jorge Soler, against his former team with whom he won the 2021 World Series MVP, gave the Angels a 3-0 lead with a two-run double before Luis Rengifo tallied an RBI base hit to give Los Angeles a four-run advantage.
Jo Adell, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with his RBI single to open the scoring, had a good view of Anderson’s start from his position in center field.
“He was really, really sharp,” Adell said. “He attacked and kept them off balance the whole game. That’s just what he puts out there. He goes out every time and he’s got that bulldog mentality of just trying to go right at guys and get guys out and keep the pace of the game going. He did it again tonight. It’s fun to play behind.”