Firmly in rotation, Suarez has strong spring debut

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Left-hander José Suarez looked solid in his first start of the spring, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings in a 3-0 loss for the Angels vs. the Padres on Wednesday at Peoria Sports Complex.

Suarez allowed one hit, walked a batter and hit another batter but struck out three. He threw 49 pitches and escaped a jam with bases loaded in the second inning, and he exited his outing after getting Trent Grisham to ground out to open the third inning.

“I was just trying to attack the zone and go after hitters,” Suarez said through an interpreter. “I felt really good attacking the zone with my slider and curveball. I just felt like everything was working.”

Suarez, 24, experienced a breakout 2021 season, posting a 3.75 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 36 walks in 98 1/3 innings. He made 14 starts and nine relief appearances, as he started the year in the bullpen before being moved to the rotation full time in early July.

Angels manager Joe Maddon believes Suarez can build on that success this season, and he says that Suarez's fastball command will play a big role in getting even better this year. The lefty is out of Minor League options and is considered a lock to make the rotation.

"He's on his way," Maddon said. "He's really good. He's maturing. He's a guy who likes to have a good time, which I love. But it's just a different version of him already. You can see he's very focused. What can he do better? Really command his fastball and use everything at his disposal. The breaking ball and the changeup are really good. It's just a maturation process."

Ohtani to start Saturday as pitcher
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani's next start will come on Saturday against the White Sox in Glendale, which is notable because Ohtani will be pitching on four days’ rest. Ohtani has exclusively pitched on at least five days of rest in the past, but he will throw on shorter rest this time because of the shortened Spring Training schedule.

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The Angels plan to utilize a six-man rotation this season, and Ohtani will be back to his normal five days of rest after his next start. He’s expected to be the club’s Opening Day starter, though it has yet to make that official. Ohtani threw 50 pitches in his first outing of the spring against the Royals on Monday, allowing one run over 2 1/3 innings and striking out five batters.

“He should be good to go into the 65- to 70-pitch range,” Maddon said. “This is just different because of the way camp is spread out.”

Worth noting
• Infielder Matt Duffy, who signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million on March 16, is set to make his Angels debut against the Cubs on Thursday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Duffy is expected to make the Opening Day roster, but he's competing for a starting job in the middle infield. The club could move second baseman David Fletcher to shortstop and start Duffy at second base, but Los Angeles has several other players competing for that role, including Luis Rengifo, Andrew Velazquez, Tyler Wade and Jack Mayfield.

• Catcher Kurt Suzuki has yet to play in a Cactus League game, but Maddon said Suzuki is healthy and will get into a game soon.

• Reliever Archie Bradley, who joined the club on Friday on a one-year pact worth $3.75 million, made his spring debut against the Padres, throwing a scoreless fourth inning with one strikeout.

"Everybody's well," Maddon said. "It just feels like some of them have been on a slow ride together."