Canning stellar in rotation return: 'I feel good'

NEW YORK -- The Angels couldn’t quite finish a sweep over the Mets, but they did see an encouraging outing from right-hander Griffin Canning in his first start in more than a month.

Canning, making his first start since July 25 after a stint on the injured list with right calf tightness and two appearances out of the bullpen, allowed one run over seven strong innings in a walk-off 3-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field.

Canning struck out nine and was in line for the win after a go-ahead solo homer from Luis Rengifo in the eighth, but lefty Matt Moore gave up a run in the bottom of the frame and right-hander Reynaldo López allowed all four batters he faced to reach in the ninth. It was a frustrating ending for the Angels, but manager Phil Nevin liked what he saw from Canning, especially considering the Halos had several key relievers unavailable.

“I thought he was awesome,” Nevin said. “He knew how thin we were down there. And even the guys we used have been used a lot lately. He gave us seven strong. And even the run he allowed, he kept the ball on the infield and it was a great aggressive baserunning play.”

The Angels have tried to be cautious with Canning, as he missed last season with a stress reaction in his back and has thrown 98 2/3 innings with a 4.38 ERA this season. They didn't take any chances when he felt slightly off in early August, as he was placed on the injured list on Aug. 1 with tightness in his right calf, but was reinstated on Aug. 13.

Canning returned to the bullpen instead of the rotation and allowed four runs on six hits and one walk over 3 2/3 innings against the Rangers on Aug. 14 before bouncing back to give up just one run on two hits and one walk over 3 1/3 innings in a win in relief against the Rays on Aug. 19. But he was again summoned to the rotation to start against the Mets and is expected to remain part of that group, especially with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani not pitching again this season because of a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Canning made the most of it, as he scattered five hits and one walk in one of his best starts of the season. The lone run he allowed came on an infield single from Francisco Alvarez in the fourth. Behind him, Rengifo made a diving stop behind the second-base bag, but Jeff McNeil was able to score from second base, as Rengifo was still on the ground and couldn’t make a strong throw home.

“I felt good,” Canning said. “I felt like I had a pretty good game plan and good communication with [catcher Chad] Wallach. And I had some great defense behind me, despite a tough sun.”

Canning was efficient, needing 94 pitches to get through seven frames for the first time since May 23 against the Red Sox. He leaned heavily on his fastball, throwing it 45 times, while mixing in his slider, changeup and curveball. He registered an impressive 10 swings and misses with his fastball, four with his slider and three with his changeup.

“I threw a lot of fastballs, so I was kind of just pitching off the fastball,” Canning said. “I had a pretty good idea of what they were looking for and was able to throw what they weren’t looking for.”

Canning, 27, will stick in the rotation for now, although Nevin said before the game that the Angels could shift to a five-man rotation (instead of the current six) at some point. It could also happen in the short-term, if right-hander Chase Silseth needs to miss a start after being hit in the head by a throw on Saturday.

The Angels, though, will continue to monitor Canning and see how he’s feeling, especially given his jump in innings this year after missing last season. He threw 64 2/3 innings between the Majors (62 2/3) and Minors (two) in 2021, after working 56 1/3 frames in the Majors in the shortened '20 season.

Canning’s career high in innings pitched is 113 1/3 as a Minor Leaguer in 2018, and he also threw 106 1/3 innings between the Angels (90 1/3) and the Minors (16) in ’19.

Despite the heavier load, Canning said he feels good right now -- and it certainly showed against the Mets.

“I feel good,” Canning said. “I had that little blip a few weeks ago. But since then, I’ve been feeling pretty strong.”