MINNEAPOLIS >> Jaime Barria made the most of his opportunity, likely earning another one.
The Angels gave Barria his first start of the season on Sunday and he delivered seven strong innings in a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
After allowing homers to the first two batters he faced, Barria did not allow another run in equaling his career high in innings.
Shohei Ohtani had given him the lead with his major league leading 35th homer of the season, a tie-breaking shot in the sixth.
That gave Barria and the Angels’ a one-run lead, but they scored three runs in the top of the ninth to provide some insurance for a bullpen without closer Raisel Iglesias, who had pitched three days in a row. Steve Cishek worked a scoreless eighth with a one-run lead and Tony Watson pitched the ninth with a four-run lead.
They secured a victory for Barria, who got this opportunity to start because the Angels wanted to give Ohtani an extra day between starts.
Now, the Angels will certainly have to discuss a way for him to remain in the rotation for at least another start.
“Absolutely, he gives you more to think about,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “Give him credit. You always want to reward moments like that when people earn the right to be here. So we’ll talk about it. But definitely that makes you look at him differently. I’ve not seen him pitch like that. I have not personally.”
Specifically, Maddon said he saw something different from Barria on the radar gun.
Barria’s average fastball on Sunday was 94.1 mph, compared with 93.2 mph in his first two outings this season. He had previously thrown just one pitch at 95.0 mph in his career, and on Sunday he equaled or surpassed that number 11 times. His hardest pitch was 95.6 mph.
“I started seeing 94-95 and that’s territory I haven’t seen him in the past,” Maddon said. “So I was pretty impressed.”
Barria credited the coaching staff at Triple-A Salt Lake for helping him get stronger, as well as improving physically and mentally.
Barria bounced back nicely after allowing two runs within his first eight pitches.
Barria left a 3-and-2 pitch over the middle of the plate to leadoff hitter Max Kepler, who drilled it over the right field fence. His next pitch was also over the middle of the plate, and Brent Rooker hammered it into the third deck in left field.
“He made much better pitches after the first two,” Maddon said. “He might have just been a little bit nervioso. Once he settled in, he kept getting better and better.”
After that, though, Barria was sharp. He gave up two singles and two walks. The Twins had another hitter reach on an error by second baseman David Fletcher.
The Twins did not get a runner into scoring position against Barria after the homers.
Meanwhile, catcher Max Stassi did most of the work to erase the damage from the two homers.
Stassi collected his first career triple in the second inning when his drive into the right-center field gap popped out of center fielder Jake Cave’s glove as he leaped at the fence. Brandon Marsh scored on the play.
Stassi hit a game-tying solo homer in the fifth.
An inning later Ohtani put the Angels on top.
Ohtani had been in a 4-for-24 slump, with 14 strikeouts, immediately after the break, so Maddon gave him a day off on Friday. Ohtani responded with four hits in the next two games, including the homer and two doubles. The homer was against lefty Danny Coulombe
“He looks frisky,” Maddon said. “Good at bats. You see him running really well. He hits the lefty. He told me the other day. He said I’m seeing lefties really good right now. He told me that a couple of days ago, before the day off. So I felt good about that, too. He’s so engaged right now.”
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