ANAHEIM — Before Cooper Criswell made his large league debut successful the Angels’ 5-0 nonaccomplishment to the San Diego Padres connected Friday night, Perry Minasian rejected the conception that Criswell wasn’t a prospect.
“He’s been a imaginable successful our eyes,” the Angels’ wide manager said. “We similar the mode helium throws strikes, attacks the zone. He tin bash antithetic things with the ball. He’s not scared.”
Criswell did propulsion the shot implicit the plate, contempt the information that helium was throwing a two-seam fastball that averaged 87.2 mph.
The Padres made interaction connected each 1 of their swings, including 5 consecutive hits that produced 3 runs and knocked him retired with 1 retired successful the 2nd inning.
“The archetypal inning helium got the shot connected the crushed connected a fewer times and I thought, present we go,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “The adjacent inning I conscionable didn’t consciousness comfy astir it. I wanted to support the crippled close.”
Criswell said his biggest occupation was falling down successful the count.
“I had immoderate jitters, but erstwhile I got retired determination I felt good,” Criswell said, “but I had occupation locating my worldly and I fell down and that didn’t assistance maine much… The benignant of pitcher I was contiguous was not a look for success. I request to get ahead.”
It remains to beryllium seen whether Criswell volition get different changeable to show if his worldly tin play successful the large leagues.
The 25-year-old erstwhile 13th-round prime had shown capable successful the minors to warrant an accidental erstwhile the remainder of the Angels’ large league rotation was ravaged by trips to the injured list.
Criswell posted a 3.77 ERA astatine Double-A and Triple-A this season. He struck retired 112 successful 90-2/3 innings, numbers that suggested helium could miss immoderate bats, adjacent with his below-average velocity.
After the Padres knocked retired Criswell, the Angels brought successful different pitcher who had climbed done their workplace strategy without the benignant of eye-popping worldly that scouts similar to see, and helium fared better.
Left-hander Packy Naughton pitched 4-1/3 innings and gave up conscionable 2 unearned runs. Shortstop José Iglesias made 2 errors successful the fifth, starring to the runs.
“I thought Packy was outstanding,” Maddon said. “He attacked the onslaught zone. He had a assortment of antithetic pitches. He’s decidedly not afraid. He’s got truly bully beingness retired there. Bully for Packy. That was an outstanding performance.”
Naughton, who was acquired past twelvemonth from the Cincinnati Reds successful speech for Brian Goodwin, had a 4.90 ERA this play astatine Double-A and Triple-A. He has present fixed up 1 earned tally successful 5-1/3 large league innings.
Naughton present surely could beryllium successful enactment to get an accidental arsenic a starter arsenic the Angels effort to portion unneurotic their rotation for the last month.
While Naughton kept the Padres from making the crippled a blowout, it didn’t substance due to the fact that the Angels’ hitters did thing against Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, who tossed a implicit game.
The Angels managed conscionable 3 hits, each singles. They lone had 1 at-bat with a runner successful scoring presumption each night.
“That was each Musgrove’s fault,” Maddon said. “I’ve seen him earlier successful Pittsburgh. That was the champion mentation of him. I’ve seen him bully but I’ve ne'er seen those kid of numbers passim the game. He had everything going today. Plus helium had a wide onslaught portion to enactment with too, truthful that benefited him also.”