Three games into the season, Ron Washington has already made some moves to steady the Los Angeles Angels.
First, there was a team meeting after two big losses. Then, on Sunday, he went to the mound during a crucial moment – not to change pitchers, but to help a reliever calm down during a tough situation.
Whatever the psychological effect of Washington’s managing, the Angels ended their opening series with a 4-1 victory over Baltimore. They avoided being swept after losing the first two games by a combined score of 24-7 and got Washington, who is 71 years old, his first managerial win since 2014 with Texas.
“Everything that Wash has done so far, I love it,” outfielder Taylor Ward said after the meeting that followed a 13-4 loss on Saturday. “It might just be what we need.” Washington, who took over from Phil Nevin after the 2023 season, told reporters the meeting was just to remind players that the season is long.
Team meetings work better when your next starting pitcher does well, and Reid Detmers did just that on Sunday, giving up one run and two hits in five innings. He talked about the mood of the meeting.
“It was nothing crazy,” Detmers said. “It’s not like a meeting where you’re getting yelled at. It was more like, calm down, play like we know how to play, let’s go out there and have fun.”
After Detmers left the game, José Soriano pitched three innings of relief. He got two men on base with one out in the seventh inning, the second of which came when he was called for taking too long to throw a pitch on a full count.
It was time for a visit to the mound, and Washington made it himself instead of letting his pitching coach handle it. “I was just trying to tell him to relax and keep doing what he did when he first came out there,” Washington said. “Don’t suddenly get too pumped up and start throwing too hard.”
Facing the top of the Baltimore order, Soriano got Gunnar Henderson to ground out and then retired Adley Rutschman on a line drive to left field.
