The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Davidson's debut gets derailed by grand slam
SEATTLE » Tucker Davidson’s debut with the Angels demonstrated one of the issues that’s haunted him throughout his brief big league career.
Davidson walked five batters in four-plus innings, including one just before giving up a grand slam that sent the Angels on their way to a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon.
Jesse Winker’s third-inning drive just inside the right-field pole was the first homer that Davidson has allowed this season, but he’s now walked 18 in just 19 1/3 major league innings.
In parts of three big league seasons, Davidson has issued 30 walks in 41 innings. He’s struck out 31.
Davidson’s expectation for improvement in that area is reflected by his 2.7 walks per nine innings this season at Triple-a.
“I just have to translate and do it here,” Davidson said. “I might not be so fine. That’s just more giving the opportunity to put my stuff in play. Here it is, hit it. And good things will happen on that end. I think the biggest thing for me is just getting ahead. Getting strike one. And just putting the throttle down when I can.”
Angels manager Phil Nevin said it’s a matter of “finding a pitch you can go to where you know you can get a strike.”
The Angels took a flier on the 26-year-old left-hander in last week’s trade with the Atlanta Braves. The most significant part of that deal for the Angels was that the Braves took on the entire $51 million still owed to closer Raisel Iglesias through the 2025 season.
The Angels also picked up Davidson and journeyman reliever Jesse Chavez. Chavez could help them get through the rest of this season, but Davidson is now on the depth chart as an option to help the Angels going forward.
“He showed some flashes of some stuff that we heard about,” Nevin said. “The fastball, I
thought, was good. He had some good rise to it. He threw a lot of sliders. We know he’s got a good one.”
Nevin said they just wanted to see what Davidson could do before they began to tinker, but he suggested the Angels will work with him “on mixing his pitches better” and his command. Davidson did not throw any changeups in his first outing with the Angels. He said that’s a pitch that he’s working to improve.
Davidson’s control issues were apparent immediately, as he walked two of the first three hitters of the game. Davidson then gave up a run-scoring double to Eugenio Suarez.
After a perfect second, Davidson allowed back-toback singles and then he walked Suarez to load the bases. Davidson then fell behind Winker, 2-and-0. He threw a fastball at the knees and Winker yanked it down the line, for a grand slam.
“I threw it right down the middle and he put a good swing and it was fair by a couple inches,” Davidson said. “A couple inches to the right it’s a different ballgame, but it’s one of those I’ve got to get ahead of him. He’s a good hitter and he put a good swing on it.”
Davidson managed to finish the third and get into the fifth before he was pulled. He was charged with six runs when one of the runners he left scored while Jimmy Herget was on the mound.
The Angels were able to get within striking distance, scoring twice in the fourth and once in the sixth. David Fletcher drove in all three runs, with a fourth-inning double and a sixth-inning groundout.
The Angels had an earlier chance at a big inning, before the grand slam.
Phil Gosselin was at second when Taylor Ward singled into left with one out. Third base coach Mike Gallego waved Gosselin home, even though Winker had the ball in left before Gosselin got to third. The Mariners threw Gosselin out at the plate, for the second out of the inning. Nevin said he was OK with Gallego’s decision because it didn’t look like the Mariners had a cutoff man in position, although third baseman Eugenio Suarez did take Winker’s throw and make the relay home for the out.
Shohei Ohtani, who was on deck at the time, also collided with Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales as he was going to back up the plate. Ohtani was spiked on the top of the foot by Gonzales, but he remained in the game and Nevin said afterward that he’s fine.