PITTSBURGH — Patrick Sandoval took another step toward getting his career back on track on Tuesday night.
Sandoval pitched seven innings in the Angels’ 9-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Kevin Pillar’s two homers and career-high six RBIs providing the bulk of the support.
Sandoval has now pitched better in each of his last three starts, allowing three and two earned runs in the previous two. This was the first time this season that he finished the sixth inning.
“I just feel a lot better, a lot more comfortable on the mound pitching my game,” Sandoval said. “I’m being the best version of myself.”
That entails throwing a lot more of his best pitches – his slider and changeup – and less of his fastball. He threw just 30 fastballs among his 103 pitches on Tuesday night, and only three of them were four-seam fastballs.
He slightly increased the percentage from last week’s start against the Philadelphia Phillies, when he struck out 10 in five innings, allowing two runs.
“I think he’s been landing his offspeed stuff, which is his repertoire,” Manager Ron Washington said. “His curveball has been good and slider has been good and his changeup is his pitch. And then he was able to spot his fastball and in certain situations. That’s what he does. A couple of starts ago, he said he got away from what he does, trying to be a power pitcher. So now he’s just back to relaxing and using his stuff the way he knows he can use it. And tonight, he did an excellent job.”
Sandoval gave up three hits, struck out seven and walked one on Tuesday. He threw 71 strikes. He threw just 12 of 25 first-pitch strikes, but he was able to get so many of his other pitches over that he didn’t get into trouble, which is another encouraging sign.
“I didn’t really realize I did a terrible job getting strike one, but I was able to get back into counts quick and not let the at-bats linger like I usually do,” Sandoval said.
The Pirates did not even get a runner into scoring position against Sandoval until the seventh. Pillar, the left fielder, appeared to lose a line drive in the lights in left field, allowing it to go for a double.
Pillar had provided plenty of support for Sandoval and the Angels (13-23), though.
Pillar hit his first homer of the night, a three-run shot in the fourth inning. He drove in a run with a groundout in the fifth and he hit a solo homer in the seventh. It was the seventh time in his career he had hit multiple homers. Pillar added an RBI double in the eighth, setting a new career high in RBIs.
The Angels primarily expected Pillar to hit against left-handed pitchers, but he got the start against Pittsburgh right-hander Quinn Priester on Tuesday because Taylor Ward got a day off.
The Angels are facing a lefty on Wednesday, so Pillar is likely to start in center field instead of Mickey Moniak.
Pillar has been with the Angels for just a week, signing after three-time American League MVP Mike Trout was diagnosed with a torn meniscus.
“Anytime you come into a new clubhouse – I’ve been traded twice in my career – you’re kind of always looking for that moment or moments, that say, I’m an Angel. I belong here,” Pillar said. “I had that in that first home run. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t really been able to come up with that one big hit to be able to give us a little cushion early in the game. It was huge for our team.”
The Angels banged out 15 hits, including four from Logan O’Hoppe and two each from Moniak and Nolan Schanuel. It was a welcome outburst for a team that scored just three runs in the previous three games, all losses.
“It started with the guy on the mound,” Washington said. “And it started with the big hit that Pillar gave us, something we’ve been looking for. He gave it to us, and then it became contagious.”