Sandoval lacks 'his normal zip,' gives up slam

ANAHEIM -- The first three innings of Patrick Sandoval’s start on Friday night were much like what the lefty had given the Angels since moving into a starting role in mid-May.

Sandoval, who entered the game with a 3.12 ERA in 13 outings as a starter, held the Astros to just one hit through the first three innings. But the makings of another quality outing came to a halt in the fourth after he gave up a grand slam to Kyle Tucker in the Halos' 4-1 defeat to the Astros at Angel Stadium.

“More than anything, his stuff wasn't as sharp as normal,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “There was no real go-to tonight. That change wasn't there. The fastball didn't have good carry. … Just overall, he wasn't out there with his full normal complement tonight.”

The velocities on all five of Sandoval’s pitches had dips of 1.1 mph or more, according to Statcast. The most noticeable decline came on his fastball, which had a 2.2 mph drop and averaged 91.2 mph -- maxing out at 94.4 mph -- during his start.

Sandoval said he felt physically fine and had to make due with how his repertoire was working.

“That's just what I had today,” Sandoval said. “I had to compete with it. I thought I did an alright job up until that fourth inning. Some pitches got away, and then one swing and it's a four-nothing game. That's just how baseball is. I just gotta fight through it. Get ready for the next one.”

The lefty began the fourth inning by issuing back-to-back walks to Carlos Correa and Yordan Alvarez, followed by a single from Aledmys Díaz. His first pitch to the left-handed-hitting Tucker was sent over the right-field wall and broke the scoreless duel that Sandoval and opposing starter Zack Greinke had begun to build up.

Sandoval pitched into the fifth to face two of the Astros’ lefty bats, but his night came to an end after working 4 2/3 innings that included five hits, two walks and three strikeouts on 83 pitches (50 strikes).

Sandoval said the biggest problem for him in the fourth was beginning it with a free pass to Correa.

“I'd say more so the Correa at-bat [was the issue],” Sandoval said. “The leadoff walk, they're killers and good teams like that will make you pay. That's what happened.”

Entering Friday's start, Sandoval had pitched five or more innings in each of his last 12 starts dating back to May 22. Sandoval had also allowed four runs or more just once in that span, against the Mariners on July 18. The 24-year-old has a 3.62 ERA with a .215 average allowed following the short outing.

Across Statcast metrics, Sandoval ranks in the 93rd percentile in whiff percentage and in the 77th percentile in chase rate. Against Houston, he managed to induce just five whiffs, tied for his fewest in a game this season.

“It just was one of those nights,” Maddon said. “He didn't have his normal zip on everything. … Give him credit. It was like 83 pitches for four and two-thirds [innings]. [Sandoval] being able to do that permits us to do what we did [with the bullpen], which then makes us better tomorrow.”