Angels put it all together in blowout victory over Reds

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on Apr 10, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CINCINNATI — Three numbers tell you all you need to know about what the Angels’ lineup did on Friday night.

They had 10 hits, eight walks and seven strikeouts.

The Angels’ 10-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds marked a rare confluence of those three numbers. It was the first time since last July that they had more hits than strikeouts and more walks than strikeouts. They only did it once last season. It happened twice in 2024.

“I feel like up and down the lineup, they had quality at-bats after quality at-bats,” first-year Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Hitting is contagious, like they say. I think it’s not just getting hits but just the quality and seeing each guy lay some good at-bats down and just kind of everybody fed off each other.”

For good measure, they also hit three home runs. Jorge Soler hit an eighth-inning grand slam, his third homer of the week. Zach Neto (No. 5) and Josh Lowe (No. 2) also homered.

Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz handled most of the work on the mound, allowing one run in seven innings.

All in all, it was the kind of clean performance that helped the Angels (7-7) wash away the memories of ugly losses to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Three hitters who had been slumping lately had encouraging days, although only two of them actually had hits.

Lowe, who came into the game hitting .091, singled and hit his first home run since March 27.

“Definitely been working really hard to get things turned in the right direction,” Lowe said. “Honestly, the whole year I haven’t felt like it’s been far off at all. It was just a matter of seeing results.”

Yoán Moncada, who came into the game hitting .083, drew two walks and drove in a run with a bloop single on a 99-mph fastball from Chase Burns. He also tripled.

“Obviously the triple was really nice, but for me the two-strike at-bat, runners in scoring position, letting the ball travel, getting jammed and hitting the ball to left field, fighting it off and battling where a guy throwing 100 with a nice slider, you could easily strike out,” Suzuki said. “For him to do that in that situation was awesome.”

Mike Trout didn’t have any hits, but he still had to feel good about his at-bats. Trout hit the ball over 100 mph three times, including one fly ball that center fielder T.J. Friedl snagged before it could go over the fence. Friedl caught another one at the warning track. Trout is still hitting .174, with just two hits in his last 26 at-bats.

“I think Trout’s been having great at-bats with nothing to show for it for about a week now,” Suzuki said. “Even the out he made to left, where he got jammed a little bit, the path he took to attack it was right where he wanted it to be. I really like where Mike’s at.”

The Angels scored in five innings, including Soler’s blast in a five-run eighth that gave them a 10-1 lead, their biggest lead at any point in their first 14 games.

Kochanowicz didn’t need that much cushion.

In his last two starts, he’s allowed one run on three hits in 12 2/3 innings. His has a 3.24 ERA through three starts.

“Felt good,” Kochanowicz said. “Definitely feel like I’m attacking with all four pitches and that’s really what I aim to do, to have all our stuff. I feel like I’m in a great spot, just trying to stay right here.”

Kochanowicz sailed along without much trouble — despite giving up some hard contact — through the first four innings. He needed just 52 pitches to get 12 outs.

He took the mound in the fifth with a 4-0 lead and suddenly lost the strike zone. He issued three straight walks to the bottom three hitters in the Reds’ lineup.

That got pitching coach Mike Maddux out to the mound. Kochanowicz responded by getting the next two hitters on ground balls, escaping the inning with just one run scoring.

“That’s where the calmness and maybe the experience that Jack has helped him get through that, to be able to slow the game down,” Suzuki said of the dicey fifth. “Things can unravel quickly in this ballpark especially.”

After that, he clicked right back into gear and retired six of seven hitters in his final two innings.

Left-hander Mitch Farris worked the last two innings, getting the final out of the game on a spectacular diving catch from center fielder Bryce Teodosio.

It was the fitting way to end a textbook game.

“That was a complete ballgame,” Lowe said. “It started with Jack taking the ball and throwing seven strong. He was really efficient. He kept all of the guys on defense on our toes. Balls put in play. Then on offense, we just didn’t let off the gas the whole game.”