Kochanowicz earns first career win as Angels hold on to avoid sweep against Nationals

Starter Jack Kochanowicz earned his first career win as the Angels took advantage of walks and two-out hitting in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals on Sunday morning.

Kochanowicz (1-2) pitched brilliantly as he showed great improvement from his work earlier on in the season. He used 93 pitches to work through 7 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and striking out two. His control was on point all morning, as he only walked one batter during his start. 

The Angels got across the big portion of their runs in the fourth inning, taking advantage of some sloppy Washington pitching. The biggest hit of the frame was a bases-clearing, three-run double from Kevin Pillar that made it a 5-0 game. Los Angeles also scored twice earlier in the inning thanks to a throwing error from Jose Trena and an RBI groundout from Michael Stefanic.

Late in the game, things nearly took a turn for the worse. Taking a 6-1 lead to the eighth, the Angels allowed six hits and five walks across the final two innings as they barely held on. Washington even managed to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, trailing 6-4. However, Ben Joyce managed to induce a clutch game-ending double play from Juan Yepez that sealed the narrow victory.

The Angels are now 52-66 and 26-31 on the road. They finished a six-game road trip against the Yankees and Nationals going 3-3. They sit 3 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers for third place in the AL West as they head home on Monday to begin a six-game homestand.

Kochanowicz dazzles

In just his third start of his Major League career, the 23-year-old produced his best performance by a wide margin. He was called up to make his first start since July 20, and came through with some much-needed length on a day where the Los Angeles bullpen needed some rest.

Kochanowicz, who has gone 5-8 with a 4.50 ERA across 18 starts at Double-A Rocket City this season, jumped out of the gates in efficient fashion. He retired the first nine Nationals he saw, pitching perfectly through the opening three innings.

The right-hander continued to cruise, keeping Washington off the board and allowing just two hits from innings four to seven. He finally ran into trouble in the eighth, surrendering his first run on a leadoff solo homer from Jacob Young. Luis Garcia would eventually provide the second run of the frame for the Nationals, using the third hit of the inning to bring home Nasim Nunez on an RBI single. That would mark the end of the line for Kochanowicz, who was replaced by Mike Baumann with two outs in the eighth.

Nonetheless, the start was a resounding success as he eventually earned his first Major League win. He allowed just two earned runs, lowering his ERA from 14.14 to 7.98. The rookie had not gone more than four innings in a start before Sunday, and had never allowed less than five earned runs in a start. With the big-time performance, perhaps Kochanowicz has earned himself some more big-league starts before the season's end.

Angels thrive on walks

The Los Angeles lineup did a great job of putting together patient at-bats as the Nationals issued 13 walks on the day. The 13 walks ties the most that the club has allowed in a game since moving to Washington in 2005. 

National's starter Mackenzie Gore issued six of those walks, allowing five runs (none of them earned) across his four innings of work. Gore walked four batters alone in the fourth as the Angels exploded for five of their six runs within the inning. Back-to-back walks from Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto with two outs in the frame allowed Kevin Pillar to step up to the plate and deliver the biggest hit of the day.

Pillar finished the day 2-5 with 3 RBI. Nolan Schanuel and Brandon Drury each reached base three times despite going hitless as the pair worked three walks respectively. Zach Neto finsihed 0-4, but reached base twice thanks to a pair of walks himself. Los Angeles even managed to walk in their sixth run of the night in the eighth as Michael Stefanic scored Brandon Drury with the fourth free pass of the inning.

The Angels did a great job overall of letting the Nationals burn themselves, managing to plate six runs despite a mere 1-13 showing with runners in scoring position. Washington finished 2-9 in such situations, but were only walked five times. Their lack of control ultimately made the difference as Los Angeles managed to hang on by a thread in the end.

Joyce avoids collapse

Ben Joyce ultimately managed to secure the victory in Washington D.C., but it certainly wasn't an easy task. He stepped onto the mound in the bottom of the ninth with the Angels up 6-2 and needing three more outs to end it. 

After retiring Travis Blankenhorn as the first batter of the inning, he allowed back-to-back singles to Jacob Young and Riley Adams. He then issued a walk to Nasim Nunez that loaded the bases with one out. The next batter, Alex Call, continued to come through for Washington as he hit an infield single to make it 6-3.

The line kept moving for the Nationals as Luis Garcia walked to make it 6-4. Joyce had not recorded an out for five consecutive batters as the game seemed to be slipping out of his grasp. However, Juan Yepez would ground into a dagger double play to kill the rally as the Angels somehow hung on to win.

Joyce labored through 29 pitches across the inning, allowing three hits and two walks. The Angels' bullpen (Joyce and Baumann) surrendered five walks across just 1 1/3 innings of work. Luckily, the Nationals had even greater struggles with their control. Joyce has now allowed earned runs in two of his last three appearances after previously tossing 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Angels will now head home as they host the Blue Jays at 6:38 on Monday night for game one of a three-game series. Los Angeles will send out right-hander Davis Daniel (1-3, 6.04 ERA) to start against Toronto right-hander Bowden Francis (4-3, 5.44 ERA).