Angels Starter Says He's Pitching Like 'Best Version of Himself'

This starter crushed it Tuesday.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

What a game for Patrick Sandoval.

The 27-year-old starter for the Los Angeles Angels easily put in his best game of the season on Tuesday, as the Angels shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-0. Sandoval was flat out dominant, pitching for a season-high seven innings, and shutting out the Pirates. He allowed just three hits, one walk, and zero runs, while striking out seven hitters.

This is the first time all season that Sandoval has shut out an opponent, the most pitches he's thrown in a game in 2024, and the fewest hits he's allowed in a game this season.

“I just feel a lot better, a lot more comfortable on the mound pitching my game,” Sandoval said, via Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register. “I’m being the best version of myself.”

Sandoval made some changes to put in his best start of the season. He continued to decrease his usage of the fastball pitch while instead opting for his slider and changeup.

“I think he’s been landing his offspeed stuff, which is his repertoire,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “His curveball has been good and slider has been good and his changeup is his pitch. And then he was able to spot his fastball and in certain situations. That’s what he does. A couple of starts ago, he said he got away from what he does, trying to be a power pitcher. So now he’s just back to relaxing and using his stuff the way he knows he can use it. And tonight, he did an excellent job.”

This performance is huge for the Angels. Not only did Sandoval's lights-out performance — combined with Kevin Pillar's two home runs — give Los Angeles a clear victory, but it showed the Angels might have a strong starter in Sandoval. Pitching has been the Angels' weakest unit, and they would benefit greatly if at least Sandoval could be able to pitch like this consistently. If will take a few more starts to tell if this game was an outlier, or a glimpse at Sandoval's real potential.