Keys to Victory: How the Los Angeles Angels Can Win Behind Walbert Ureña

Young fireballer Walbert Urena gets the start today as the Angels try to win their first series in over three weeks. So far this season Urena has shown flashes of promise but has also been wild at times.

Here is what he needs to do to get the Angels a win so they can take the series 2 games to 1.

Walbert Urena needs to pitch at least 6 innings today.

The Angels bullpen is really, really bad. Not only is it really bad, but the starting pitchers in the last two games only lasted four innings each. Thankfully Mitch Farris soaked up 4 innings on Monday night so the team had a pretty fresh set of arms last night.

But when Sam Aldegheri was pulled after 4 innings last night a combination of Jose Fermin, Drew Pomeranz, Sam Bachman, and Ryan Zeferjahn covered the final 5 frames. To their credit they only allowed 1 run. But with Zeferjahn throwing 33 pitches he is likely unavailable today.

No lead is safe with this Angels bullpen on the best of days. A day game following a night game in which the majority of the bullpen was used is not the best of days. If Urena pitches 6 innnings the Angels have a chance to win. Anything less and it gets dicey.

Zach Neto needs to hit.

It was great to see Neto record multiple hits last night. His home run will get all of the attention but his single earlier in the game was what seemed to get him going. He kept his head still and created a short path to the ball. For the first time in a while he did not try to do too much.

Ironically in baseball when you try too hard you often fail. Staying within yourself leads to better results and in the next at bat Neto crushed a ball over the wall and you could see his full mojo was back as he watched the ball sail over the fence.

With Neto at the top of the order it is imperitative he gets on base. He needs to be smarter when he's on base, though. With his speed he's already in scoring position when Trout is at bat.

Kurt Suzuki needs to play the best players for a change.

Josh Lowe and Yoan Moncada continue to be anchors to the Angels lineup. Last night they combined to go 0 for 6 with 3 strikeouts while Oswald Peraza and Adam Frazier sat on the bench.

Frazier is a solid bat with a low strikeout rate. Left field is not his primary position, but Lowe's defense is far from stellar. Frazer is the better bat and at least Lowe's equal with the glove. Continuing to play Lowe is inexcusable at this point.

The same can be said of Moncada who has 1 hit in his last 7 games and has a slash line of .167/.239/.262 in his last 17 games. Those numbers are even worst than his season stats of .176.306/.308. Moncada is simply not going to be part of the Angels future.

Peraza is better with the glove and bat. So far he is looking like a rare steal for Perry Minasian. He needs to be playing every day both to improve the team's chances of winning now and to see if he will be part of the team's future.

Kurt Suzuki continuing to hamstring the team is a major problem. He was handed a weak bullpen but a decent lineup and his mismanages both.

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