The Key Reason for the Angels 2-0 Start to 2026

Angels coaches emphasized the need for a better approach in the batter's box this off season and through two games we are seeing it on display. A year after leading the majors in strikeouts and ranking third worst in baseball in on base percentage, the Angels are making pitchers work harder and it is showing in the run column.

The more pitches a pitcher throws the more likely he is to make a mistake. Angels hitters are making Astros pitchers throw more pitches than they did in 2025. This is resulting in shorter outings for the starting pitchers and more scoring opportunities for Angels hitters.

The Angels are driving pitch counts up and starters out of games in less than six innings.

Mar 27, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) hits a single during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Hunter Brown threw 102 pitches in 4.2 innings on Opening Day. That is a really high number for that short of an appearance. At just shy of 8 pitches per out, the Astros would have needed to throw 212 pitches to record 27 outs at that pace.

The Angels failed to score while Brown was in the game, but they were able to knock out Houston's ace early and earned the opportunity to face the less than stellar Astros bullpen.

Throwing 102 pitches over 7 easy innings is not as taxing as throwing them in a shorter window. Thanks to the pitch clock, pitchers have only seconds of recovery time between pitches so by pitch 20 or so are usually visibly breathing hard. Long at bats lead to long innnings which lead to short outings by starting pitchers.

Last night Mike Burrows was more efficient and pitched 5.2 innings using 96 pitches. But he still had a couple of taxing innings and served up a 3 run bomb to Josh Lowe in the second inning. That home run was part of a 22 pitch inning, which is taxing in itself and can carry over as the game wears on.

Burrows later made a second mistake to Mike Trout leading off the 5th inning. Were the 39 pitches in frames 1 and 2 partially to blame? It is very reasonable to assume so. Burrows was pulled from the game not long after surrendering the Trout home run. This was Trout's second great day in a row.

Knocking out top of the rotation arms is critical.

Not all pitchers are equal. Getting a Hunter Brown or Mike Burrows out of the game early is a much larger benefit than letting a team's fifth starter stay in the game. You can eventually get to the fifth starter on most nights but if Brown and Burrows are able to hand the ball to the Astros preferred back end tandem, that game is most likely a win for Houston.

The softest part of any pitching staff is the middle relief. Getting to those guys in important and there's really only one way to do that: grind out each at bat and get the starter out of there.

Two games does not define a season, but so far the Angels are making starting pitchers work harder than they did in 2025 and it is giving them opportunities to win games.