Heaney struggles in season debut
Angels battle back after falling into a big hole against the White Sox, but the comeback falls short.
Mike Trout drew a walk. Albert Pujols was intentionally walked. And José Iglesias came to the plate with the tying and go-ahead runs on base and two outs in the eighth inning.
It felt like a gamble from Chicago manager Tony La Russa, giving a free pass to his former first baseman with his team clinging to a one-run lead.
But it worked, with closer Liam Hendriks inducing a deep fly out to diffuse the Angels’ last true threat in an eventual 12-8 White Sox win Friday night at Angel Stadium.
It took a lot for the Angels (1-1) to even make it close in their second game of the season, rallying from what was a 7-1 deficit with a three-run fourth inning (courtesy of a three-run homer by Pujols) and two-run fifth (when White Sox right fielder Adam Eaton missed a fly ball near the foul line, allowing two runs to score).
The eighth inning was their best chance to come all the way back, though, as the White Sox piled on five runs in the top of the ninth.
Here are three other observations from Friday.
Heaney struggles in season debut
It all started so well for Andrew Heaney.
A strikeout of José Abreu to complete a 1-2-3 first inning. Backto-back strikeouts of Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn to begin the next. And a flyout from Yasmani Grandal to end the second on a 95.2-mph heater, Heaney’s hardest pitch in the regular season since 2019.
In his first start of 2021, a season in which he is hoping to finally break through as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher, Heaney retired his first seven batters with ease.
He got just two more outs the rest of the night.
In the third inning, Heaney gave up back-to-back singles, then a two-out walk to load the bases, then a back-breaking grand slam to Abreu — the ball vanishing into the glove of a fan in the first row of the right-field seats, and Heaney’s auspicious beginning to the night right disappearing along with it.
The left-hander was removed after giving up another run in the third, leaving behind two runners who also later scored.
His final line: three-plus innings, seven earned runs, five hits, two walks, four strikeouts. His biggest problem: limiting damage with his changeup.
During the first 21⁄3 innings, Heaney recorded six of his seven outs with the fastball — his most trusted pitch, but also one he said this spring he has sometimes been too “stubborn” with, throwing it in situations where his off-speed and breaking offerings might be better.
Buttrey placed on restricted list
Angels reliever Ty Buttrey was placed on the restricted list after not reporting to the team’s alternate training site, manager Joe Maddon announced Friday.
Maddon said Buttrey, 28, “has chosen to walk away from the game for right now.”
Buttrey was optioned by the Angels on Sunday, failing to make this year’s opening day roster after becoming a mainstay in the team’s bullpen during his first three seasons in MLB.
Despite strong campaigns in 2018 and 2019, Buttrey struggled last year, posting a 5.81 earned-run average and suffering four blown saves. Maddon said the hardthrowing right-hander still lacked consistency with his fastball command this spring, but was hopeful he could improve at the alternate site and rejoin the big-league roster later this season.
Rodriguez, Rojas make MLB debuts
Angels rookie right-hander Chris Rodriguez, 22, didn’t look at all out of place in his MLB debut Friday, retiring six of the nine batters he faced in a scoreless two-inning outing with three strikeouts and a sizzling maximum fastball velocity of 97.6 mph.
Infielder Jose Rojas, 28, also made his big-league debut, striking out in a pinch-hit at-bat in the bottom of the ninth.