Tyler Anderson Praises Angels Fans After Dominant Start to Season

Maren Angus-Coombs | Apr 10, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson walked off the mound in the eighth inning Monday night at Angel Stadium and was greeted by a standing ovation.

It was well-deserved. The veteran left-hander pitched seven scoreless innings in a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. He only needed 91 pitches to record 21 outs, striking out three and walking one.

“That was great,” Anderson said of the standing ovation. “We have a lot of great fans. I feel like last year I didn’t pitch well for them. So to start off the year this way when people are here always feels good.”

Anderson is off to an electric start this season. He hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings and became the first Angels pitcher since Hector Santiago in 2016 to pitch at least seven scoreless innings in two consecutive games. However, the Angels had never had a pitcher do it in his first two starts of the season.

His first two starts are putting last year in the rear view. In his first season of a three-year, $39 million contract, Anderson was 6-6 with a 5.13 ERA.

What has been the difference between last season and this one? His mental approach and his defense.

“I think really just trying to go pitch to pitch, and not try to think too much,” Anderson said. “Just just try to execute as many as you can. And then really our defense has been great the last two for me, which is huge. I don’t get a lot of strikeouts. Our positioning has been really good. A lot of things that we’ve talked about. Guys have made really good adjustments, our staff’s made great adjustments. Having guys in the right spot at the right time is huge.”

Anderson isn't scheduled to pitch again until at least Sunday and Angels fans will have to wait to see if he can continue his dominant start to 2024.