What We Learned from the Freeway Series Finale

Facing a solid Dodgers lineup, the last two pitchers in the Angels rotation fared well last night. With pitching being the Angels biggest question heading into the 2026 regular season it was a good sign to see both Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson blank the Blue Crew.

It was not all perfect at Chavez Ravine, but there are some things the Angels can learn from the finale of the Freeway series.

Jack Kochanowicz's mechanical adjustment continues to improve his game.

3 innings pitched, 0 earned runs allowed, 4 strikeouts and 0 walks is an impressive line this early in the season. Kochanowicz did that against a group that included Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. Even regulars like Will Smith and Max Muncy were in the Dodgers starting lineup.

Kochanowicz started his evening by striking out Ohtani. In the second he sat Smith and Muncy down back to back. He made it three in a row by striking out Teoscar Hernandez to start the bottom of the third inning.

By staying more upright, Kochanowicz has changed his arm slot a bit and is getting more downward movement on his pitches. So far it is delivering solid result. Now that those results are coming against quality opposition they are looking like they might continue.

Strikeouts continue to be a major problem.

Last season the Angels led the Majors in strikeouts and nearly set the all time team record. Giving away free outs is a great way to lose ballgames and the Angels did plenty of both in 2025.

Granted, Shohei Ohtani is an incredible pitcher but when 8 of the first 10 hitters take a K that is normally a recipe for a loss. The Angels started their A team for the most part so there's no excuse for that many K's.

Ryan Johnson is effectively wild...sometimes.

The good news is Johnson threw 4 scoreless frames himself; striking out 5 and walking none. He had traffic in most innings and escaped a couple of jams. He was missing wide to the glove side with his revamped sinker and fell behind in counts too often.

Fortunately for Johnson his improved movement was making it impossible for Dodgers hitters to square up the ball. He induced a couple of double plays to keep his ledger clean for the evening. He won't always be able to walk the high wire and pull off an escape, though.

Oswald Peraza keeps ripping the ball.

Peraza is carrying a loud bat right now. The ball is flying and he's producing that sound that is all too familiar to die hard fans. It sounds like thunder when he make contact. On the night Peraza recorded 1 hit and scored a run. However, he absolutely smoked another ball that was caught by the third baseman for an out.

A team like the Angels needs to take gambles on players like Peraza. Sometimes they work, and it just might work in this case. Peraza caught a lot of attention from his teammates and baseball writers out in the desert and his swing is heading into the regular season with him.