Dana's lesson clear: 'Walks create bad luck'

ANAHEIM -- At just 20 years old, right-hander Caden Dana dominated at Double-A Rocket City.

But he’s learning that Major League lineups are a lot more difficult to navigate. He was hit hard for a second straight start in the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Astros on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium. Dana, ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 70 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, started out strong by retiring the first six batters he faced but gave up five runs on five hits and two walks over 3 1/3 innings.

Dana is 1-2 with 10.45 ERA in 10 1/3 frames through his first three Major League outings.

“It wasn’t too good and wasn’t how I wanted to draw it up,” Dana said. “I felt good with a lot of stuff that I worked on during the week coming into the start. I felt like I did a good job of incorporating that, but it just wasn’t the outcome I wanted.”

Dana, the second-youngest player in the big leagues behind Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, started out with a win in his debut, allowing two runs over six innings against the Mariners on Sept. 1. But he lasted just one-plus inning against the Rangers on Sept. 8, surrendering five runs on seven hits and a walk.

Dana was solid early against the Astros, striking out both Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker looking. But he gave up a solo home run on a 1-1 fastball to Jason Heyward to open the third. Keeping the ball in the park has been an issue for him. It was the fifth homer allowed by Dana, who only surrendered 10 in 135 2/3 innings at Double-A.

Dana got through the rest of the third unscathed despite hitting Jake Meyers with a pitch and walking Alvarez with two outs. But it fell apart in the fourth, as he permitted the first four batters of the inning to reach.

“The only ball they got into the air was Alvarez’s hit, but otherwise they found holes,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “You want the ball on the ground, but they found holes. He was a little flat with the fastball but had a good changeup working.”

The fourth inning started with a walk of Tucker before Victor Caratini doubled to right field. Jeremy Peña and Heyward followed with consecutive RBI singles before Peña scored on a passed ball by catcher Logan O’Hoppe. Dana got Meyers to ground out, but an RBI single from Mauricio Dubón ended Dana’s day.

Of Dana’s 68 pitches, only 39 were strikes.

“I can’t start off an inning like the fourth, walking a guy,” Dana said. “Walks create bad luck and hurt you in the long run. So I have to stay on the attack and slow the game down.”

It was a tough outing for Dana, but he’s learning what it’s like to face Major League quality hitters, especially against a veteran first-place team like the Astros.

Dana, an 11th-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft who signed for a record-breaking over-slot bonus of $1.5 million, didn't have too much adversity at Double-A. The New Jersey product had a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts there despite facing competition that averaged 4 1/2 years older than him. In the Majors, he’s now nine years younger than average.

At 6-foot-4, Dana has the prototypical build for a starting pitcher but doesn’t have overpowering stuff. His fastball averaged 93.4 mph against the Astros and has averaged 93.9 mph in his three starts, topping out at 94.5 mph. But he mixes in a slider, changeup, curveball and cutter to keep hitters off-balance. On Sunday, Dana had trouble getting ahead of hitters, as he threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the 18 batters.

As part of a six-man rotation, Dana is expected to get two more starts this year. His next is tentatively scheduled for Saturday in Houston, and his final likely would come against the Rangers on Sept. 28.

“Going up against teams I’ve already faced, I’m excited to show them my best stuff,” Dana said. “They haven’t seen that yet. I just need to go out there and slow the game down from pitch No. 1. I’m excited for this week and to face the same team again.”