The Los Angeles Angels battled on Sunday afternoon, but ultimately came up short following a 9-7 loss against the Houston Astros.
With the loss, the Angels winning their first four-game series since 2016 at Daika Field in Houston, Texas, will now have to wait.
The Angels' offense did what they could by scoring in the third, fourth, and ninth innings, but ultimately, it led to a collapse in the 8th inning that proved to be the difference.
Jack Kochanowicz struggles in the second but has an encouraging outing
Jack Kochanowicz was a name that was on the bubble to make the Angels' opening day roster as the fifth man in the starting rotation.
But after a great spring training, pitching with a 1.62 ERA, and the Angels suddenly needing to fill the fourth and fifth spots of the rotation due to Grayson Rodriguez and Alek Manoah landing on the injured list, Kochanowicz became the fourth man, with Ryan Johnson filling in right behind him.
Making his season debut, Sunday afternoon, Kochanowicz had a strong and efficient outing, minus a brutal second inning.
His day started strong, needing only 14 pitches to get through the first inning, including getting Jose Altuve to strikeout looking by going to his changeup in a 3-2 count.
Jack Kochanowicz, in a 3-2 count in the 1st inning, throws a change up and gets a backwards K on Jose Altuve to end the inning. pic.twitter.com/uvSCkPgiBT
— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) March 29, 2026
But in the second inning, things didn't go as smoothly.
Kochanowicz's issues appeared to have started on the mound as he struggled to find his footing, slipping on the dirt on the pitcher mound twice at the end of his delivery.
The inability to keep his pitching wind-up stable led to him giving up a double to Joey Loperfido, as well as giving up back-to-back walks to Christian Walker and Cam Smith.
With the bases loaded, Vázquez scored two runs on a single towards right. Two at-bats later, Yordan Alvarez brought home Smith on a ground ball hit towards right.
Facing a 3-0 deficit, Kochanowicz looked like he was about to end the inning on what would've been a routine groundout hit to Yoán Moncada at third, but an inaccurate throw to first resulted in an error to give Houston a 4-0 lead.
Errors have already become an area the Angels will need to improve upon, especially after Saturday night's 3-error sixth-inning blunder.
Kochanowicz managed to escape the second by getting Carlos Correa to ground out towards short.
Kochanowicz's pitch count jumped up to 58 pitches after throwing 44 in the second. The Angels were hopeful he would be able to go deeper in the game, as they've already relied heavily on the bullpen after Friday and Saturday's starters, Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers, failed to go over five innings.
The Angels got some luck as Kochanowicz's outing changed after the second.
Working with a clean slate after the Angels tied the game at 4 in the third inning, Kochanowicz finally found his footing.
His issues with gripping his cleat on the dirt looked like a thing of the past as he worked through the Astros lineup, throwing and retiring the next six batters by throwing only 20 pitches.
His day ended in the fifth after his pitch count quickly reached over 87 pitches, and he gave up a double to Isaac Paredes and walked Jose Altuve.
Chase Silseth came in to relieve Kochanowicz and immediately retired the first two batters he saw. Unfortunately for Kochanowicz, both Isaac Parades and Altuve ended up scoring following a double by Walker, giving him 6 runs, 5 of them unearned. Kochanowicz's day ended with him giving up 5 walks, 4 hits, and striking out 3 batters.
Angels bats spoil Tatsuya Imai's MLB Debut
Tatsuya Imai was one of the top international signings over the offseason, coming from Japan. The three-time NPB All-Star signed with the Astros on a 3-year, $54 million deal this past winter after having a 1.92 ERA last season.
Making his MLB debut on Sunday, the day did not go as anticipated as the highly coveted 27-year-old right-handed pitcher had hoped.
The Angels worked him to 24 pitches and forced him to give up two walks.
Imai had a 1-2-3 inning in the second, but things quickly changed when Imai was set to face the Angels lineup for the second time in the afternoon.
Similar to what they did in the first, the Angels showed patience at the plate, forcing Imai to walk Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel. Both Josh Lowe and Mike Trout also had at-bats where they made Imai throw over five pitches.
The Angels loaded the bases against Imai with a single by Trout and Schanuel's walk.
They then cleared the bases and cut their deficit down by following a double from Jorge Soler.
In the next at-bat, they tied the game at four from an RBI single by Jo Adell, ending Imai's day.
Imai finished the day pitching only 2 2/3 innings while giving up 3 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts.
Zach Neto homers for the second time this weekend
Before Sunday, Neto had only two hits to start the season, one of which was a home run this past Friday. On Sunday, he collected his second home run and third hit.
Tied at 4, Neto came up to the plate looking for his first hit of the afternoon after getting on base twice from walks.
Continuing to show patience at the plate, Neto found himself in a 3-2 count with Travis d'Arnaud at second after he opened the inning up by hitting a double.
Astros pitcher Roddery Muñoz left a slider over the middle of homeplate and Neto delivered a no-doubt 365-foot 2-run home run over the left field wall, giving the Angels their first lead of the afternoon at 6.
Zach Neto goes yard with a no-doubter over the left field wall.
— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) March 29, 2026
While rounding the bases, Zach pays tribute to WWE wrestler Penta with his celebration "Cero Miedo"
While rounding third, he pays tribute to John Cena's "You can't see me"pic.twitter.com/nErXP2f1Mn
Astros get the better of Drew Pomeranz in the 8th
Drew Pomeranz made his second appearance of the season in the 8th inning, and it was one he'd probably want to get back.
Pomeranz began the inning by hitting Smith with a pitch. The Astros executed a sacrifice bunt to move him over to second. Pomeranz then got Jeremy Peña to fly out towards center and intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez in the next at-bat, setting the stage for Parades, who had two doubles already.
Battling against Parades, Alavarez advanced to second due to a defensive indifference call.
Pressured to find his best pitch of the inning, Pomeranz threw a 95 MPH fastball outside of the strikezone but Parades swung anyway and hit one towards centerfield.
Adell attempted to dive out for the ball, but missed the play, and Houston added two runs.
Houston brought out a pinch runner for Parades, with Altuve up at the plate. Altuve hit a line drive RBI single towards centerfield, giving the Astros an insurance run to make the score 9-6.
Angels showing more patience at the plate?
The Angels still have another 158 games left in the season, so only time will tell. But with new manager Kurt Suzuki leading the way, it seems like there has been a whole new approach to how the team is approaching at-bats.
Last season, the Angels finished 22nd in walks and were one of the more aggressive teams at the plate by leading the league in strikeouts with 1,627. Almost 100 more strikeouts than the Colorado Rockies, who finished behind them at 1,531.
This year, the Angels are leading the league in walks with 28 total. But while the patience at the plate is showing, their problems of striking out remain, as they have 44 on the year, including striking out 13 times on Sunday.