ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Angels’ rotation has made a massive improvement so far this season and while Jose Soriano’s historic start to the season has certainly helped the starting five’s ERA, he’s not the only pitcher who's made a major step up.
Jack Kochanowicz has made a massive improvement this season with a 3.05 ERA through seven games, a marked improvement from the 6.81 ERA he finished last season with.
It didn’t take many adjustments for him to get to his point. It was simply a matter of working through his mistakes from last season and building on the good things.
“Nothing feels too much different. I feel like I learned a lot last year from a lot of failures and I had some consistency before that,” Kochanowicz said. “I’ve just been able to tap into that.”
Robert Sloter - The Sporting Tribune
Jack Kochanowicz #41 of the Los Angeles Angels walks to the dugout after a pitching change against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium on May 3, 2026, in Anaheim, California.
Kochanowicz left Sunday’s game after 6.1 strong innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while striking out six and walking three.
He was sharp throughout the game, his one mistake being hanging a sinker on the inner half of the zone that Mark Vientos sent dead-center field for a two-run home run.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki chose to push Kochonowicz through the game and as a result, the young pitcher finished the game with 105 pitches, his highest count of the season.
Robert Sloter - The Sporting Tribune
Jack Kochanowicz #41 of the Los Angeles Angels throws a pitch against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium on May 3, 2026, in Anaheim, California.
“We tried to push the envelope with him [Kochanowicz] and get him an opportunity to go out there. Going… past 100 pitches and he responded really well,” Suzuki said.
Cold bats and hot gloves
As sharp as Kochanowicz was, though, it was a nil effort in the face of another quiet day from the Angels offense on top of a standout defensive game from the Mets outfield.
The Angels’ lone run came off of a Jorge Soler single in the bottom of the first and there weren’t many opportunities after.
MJ lays OUT 😤 pic.twitter.com/iN9Dtvmzgy
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 3, 2026
Soler nearly tied the game at two in the bottom of the sixth when he sent a line drive roaring to the left-center gap that could have driven in Nolan Schanuel from first. That would have been the case had center fielder MJ Melendez not made a diving catch to rob Soler of the potential RBI.
That was the end of the Angels’ scoring chances, which wouldn’t have been enough anyways after the Mets put together a three-run top of the eights for insurance and an eventual 5-1 victory.
Sunday was the 15th time in 35 games this season that the Angels scored two runs-or-less. They’re 2-13 in those games.
The team maintains that despite their struggles at the plate, the talent and the approach necessary to score runs is there, they just need to find ways to use it more consistently.
“We’ve been playing a competitive, good brand of baseball. We’ve just had some innings that haven’t gone our way,” Jo Adell said. “I think from an approach standpoint, offensively we’ve all dialed in to what our approach is going to be… We’re just going to continue to show up and do what we do.”