Efficient Kochanowicz continues to provide consistency for Halos

ARLINGTON -- Compared with advanced analytics, the quality start is a quaint, inexact, almost arbitrary measure of whether a starting pitcher put in a decent day’s work. But for a rookie like Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz, throwing six innings or more and allowing three earned runs or less adds up to a simple formula that says a lot about his progression.

In only his seventh Major League start, a 3-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday night, Kochanowicz turned in his fifth consecutive quality start. He allowed three runs, all earned, on eight hits and a walk.

Kochanowicz, the Angels’ third-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, hunkered down to hold the Rangers scoreless his final five frames.

“It’s a quality outing ... obviously I would’ve liked to go out there and not have to find it after the first,” Kochanowicz said. “I was happy I was able to string it together after that. It’s a good ‘grind’ outing, to control it after that first inning. But I want to go out there and be able to have it right away.”

A streak of five quality starts is not uncommon, but it is exceptionally rare for someone as inexperienced as Kochanowicz. He became the 10th pitcher in history to record five quality starts in his first seven MLB appearances. The last to accomplish that feat was Dillon Gee with the Mets in 2010.

The last Angels pitcher of any experience level to have five quality starts in a row was Shohei Ohtani in 2021.

All the damage to Kochanowicz happened in the first inning, when he allowed a pair of singles and then misplaced a sinker in the middle of the plate to Adolis García, who ripped a three-run homer.

“I was throwing a good amount of strikes to start the game, but it just wasn't the exact movement and where I wanted to be in the zone, I was just up a little bit,” Kochanowicz said. “The name of my game is just to stay down. So once I made that adjustment, it was a lot different.”

Kochanowicz’s effort wasn’t enough given that his counterpart, Rangers lefty Cody Bradford, gave up only one earned run in six innings. With minimal run support, the Halos rookie fell to 2-4, but manager Ron Washington thought it was an “impressive” outing nonetheless.

“He did a great job,” Washington said. “He got some pitches up in that first inning -- the main mistake he made was to García -- and after that, he settled in. He didn’t have his best sinker tonight, but he grew tonight, because he learned to battle without his best stuff. That’s what you have to do when things are not working the way you want them to work.

“His sinker was flat a little bit tonight. He usually has a turbo sinker. He learned that when you’re not having your best stuff, you can still keep your team in the ballgame. And he kept us in the ballgame.”

The Angels fell to 58-82, guaranteeing them a ninth consecutive losing season, MLB’s longest active such streak. But despite being reminded of their humble recent past, the Angels also saw some hints of a better future. Their top performers were a pair of 23-year-olds: Kochanowicz and shortstop Zach Neto, who was 3-for-4 for his team-leading ninth three-plus-hit game of the season. His 121 hits this season are the most by any Angels player aged 23 or younger since Mike Trout had 172 in 2015.

Neto made a throwing error early in the game but did not let it define his night.

“That's what it's about, growing, and he is growing,” Washington said. “Normally, the error that he made, he usually would let that affect him for the rest of the night, because he's so perfect about the game of baseball. But tonight he didn't. He kept playing, and that's what we try to get him to do, and that's a growth moment for him also. He’s going to be a tremendous ballplayer. He’s going to be around here with the Angels for a long time.”