Anderson gets back on track with seven-strikeout gem

MILWAUKEE -- Tyler Anderson was looking to improve upon his slow start with his new team when the Angels opened a six-game road trip Friday night at Milwaukee.

Mission accomplished.

Anderson surrendered a first-inning home run, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and got hit hard at times but turned in a highly effective outing for the first time since his opening start of the season. The left-hander limited the Brewers to five hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings.

Milwaukee tallied a run on a Rowdy Tellez single to right with two outs in the eighth off reliever Aaron Loup to slip past the Angels, 2-1, but Anderson’s effort wasn’t lost on manager Phil Nevin, who had high praise for his hurler’s outing.

“That was his best one,” Nevin said. “Other than the pitch to Willy [Adames] in the first inning, he was really good. This is what we saw last year. Located very well. Changeup was really good. He added a couple ticks of velocity. I thought he was really good.”

Anderson said he felt he had better command of his pitches.

“I tried to stay in there and give us a chance. It was a lot better feeling out there,” he said. “My pitches, in general, the location was better.”

Anderson struck out seven Brewers batters and walked three. He threw 109 pitches, 71 for strikes.

The Angels made a significant move to bolster their rotation by signing the 33-year-old lefty to a three-year, $39 million deal during the offseason. Anderson was coming off a career year with the Dodgers that saw him go 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 30 outings (28 starts). He was an All-Star for the first time in his seven-year career and struck out 138 batters in a career-high 178 2/3 innings, making him one of the better starting pitchers available in free agency.

Anderson had scuffled after pitching six scoreless innings in his Angels debut on April 2 at Oakland, having allowed at least five runs in each of his last three starts. In his previous start last Saturday against Kansas City, Anderson took a no-decision after tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and one strikeout.

American Family Field hadn’t been kind to Anderson, either. In three career games in Milwaukee coming in, Anderson was 1-2 with an 8.59 ERA. Friday’s start was Anderson’s first in Milwaukee since 2018 with Colorado.

The southpaw found trouble early against the Brewers, surrendering a 406-foot solo home run to Adames, the second batter he faced, on a fastball up in the zone.

The Brewers loaded the bases against Anderson in the second, but he struck out Adames swinging to end the threat.

Anderson eventually settled in, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters faced. He departed after walking Christian Yelich with two outs in the seventh. Loup came on and got Adames to ground out to end the inning.

“You can kind of feel guys’ game plans out as the game goes on, and then when you get in a situation, just don’t give in,” Anderson said. “Today, that’s how it was. I felt like as the game was going on I started feeling better and started executing pitches better.”

Anderson also said he had better velocity on his pitches.

“It was more of an attack mode and aggressive,” he said.

The game marked the first regular-season meeting between the Angels and the Brewers since April 8-10, 2019, when Los Angeles swept the three-game set at Angel Stadium. This is the Angels’ first visit to American Family Field since May 2016.

The loss ended the Angels' four-game winning streak against the Brewers.