Angels rookie Caden Dana endures second straight rough outing against Astros

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Caden Dana is learning what it takes to be a successful big league pitcher.

He’s learning the hard way.

The Angels’ 20-year-old top prospect gave up five runs in a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon.

It came on the heels of a rough game last week against the Texas Rangers. Dana has now allowed 10 runs while recording just 13 outs in his last two starts, a couple of performances that have now overshadowed the victory he earned in his big league debut.

“We’re dealing with a young kid that just came from Double-A,” manager Ron Washington said. “He had a good first outing, had some adversity, had a little bit of adversity today. It’s part of baseball at the major league level, especially when you’ve got no experience.”

Dana retired the first six Astros hitters, but it was a struggle after that. He allowed a homer to Jason Heyward in the third. In the fourth, Dana walked Kyle Tucker and then gave up hits to four of the next five hitters, ending his day.

His final line showed five hits, two walks and a hit batter.

“You go back over the video, and you make him understand that when he did make pitches and they hit it, they found holes,” Washington said. “Just got to keep grinding. I think he’s the kind of kid that will keep grinding.”

Dana reached the big leagues after he had a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A. His first start against the Seattle Mariners was encouraging. He gave up two runs in six innings.

The next two games, against the Rangers and Astros, ballooned his ERA to 10.45. If he remains on the same schedule, his last two starts of the season would be against the Astros and Rangers again.

Dana said his confidence remains high, and he’s looking forward to facing the Astros and Rangers again in his next two starts.

“I’m excited to show them my best stuff, which they haven’t seen yet,” Dana said. “I’m gonna come out here and slow the game down from pitch one.”

One of Dana’s issues on Sunday was falling behind in the count. He got a first strike to just eight of the 18 hitters he faced. The hits he allowed were all on fastballs over the heart of the plate.

Trailing 5-0 in the fourth, the Angels were in too deep of a hole for their patchwork lineup.

Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco shut out the Angels over six innings, allowing just four hits.

The Angels made the game interesting in the final two innings. Taylor Ward hit his 24th homer in the eighth inning, and the Angels scored three runs in the ninth before Zach Neto struck out, representing the tying run, to end it.

The Angels (60-89) have lost five in a row and seven of their last eight. They have also lost 25 of their last 34 games.

Mickey Moniak was hit in the hand by a pitch in the ninth inning and had to come out of the game. The initial exam showed just a contusion, but Moniak was set to undergo further testing.

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