SEATTLE – Once a basically unknown prospect in the Angels' organization, Walbert Ureña is slowly starting to stand out among rookie starters.
The 22-year-old, making his first career start against Seattle, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before being chased.
It was arguably one of the best performances of his young career, despite taking the loss in a Mariners’ 1-0 victory that completed a three-game sweep.
“It’s the composure to keep it together and execute a pitch when needed to,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “And he’s done that time and time this year so far.”
He escaped a jam in the first inning that loaded the bases with one out, inducing a groundout double-play from Josh Naylor to end the frame. He was dominant through the next four innings as he proceeded to strike out the side in the second, and allowed just one more baserunner until his troubles in the sixth.
“After that inning, I just tried to let go and have fun out there,” Ureña said.
Ureña gave up his first hit -- a leadoff double to right-center to J.P. Crawford -- that led to Seattle loading the bases after Ureña issued a pair of walks. He was pulled with two outs after a bases-loaded walk to Cal Raleigh that scored the lone run on his 107th pitch.
Ureña’s final stat line: 5 2/3 innings, one run, one hit, four walks, two HBP, and six strikeouts.
Ureña and Seattle’s Bryce Miller each had no-hitters heading in the sixth inning. The Angels broke Miller’s bid with Nolan Schanuel’s soft single into shallow right field in the seventh. Los Angeles finished with four hits, two coming in the ninth.
“I really didn’t know that,” Ureña said of his no-hit bid. “I just tried to focus on making pitches every time.”
Through 16 appearances (14 starts) on the season, Ureña is 5-7 with a 3.03 ERA. He’s struck out 75 batters over 77 1/3 innings.
After signing as an international free agent in 2021, Ureña made the Opening Day roster out of the bullpen before making his first career start on April 19. He struck out eight over six innings and allowed just two runs against San Diego in his debut.
Thursday was a nice bounceback for Ureña, who was coming off his worst outing of the season against the Athletics. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings and gave up seven runs.
Command has been an issue for the hard-throwing righty. Entering Thursday’s matchup, he was walking opposing hitters 11.8% of the time. Three of his four walks were issued in the sixth inning alone against Seattle.
“A couple pitches got away, but I thought he pitched well tonight,” Suzuki said.
Said Ureña: “My command wasn’t the best today,” he said. “I made good pitches sometimes when I needed it. That helped me a lot -- a lot of ground balls, no hard contact.”
Coming into the day, he leaned on his changeup just as much as his sinker. But Thursday, it was his primary pitch, throwing it 41% of the time and generating nine whiffs. Ureña’s changeup has been worth six runs, according to Statcast’s run value system.
Ureña ended last season as the No. 17 prospect in the Angels organization per MLB Pipeline, far from the highest-ranked arm in the system. But after each quality start, he’s continuing to become a valuable piece for the Halos’ rotation.