Instant analysis: Pirates can't complete sweep, lose 3-run lead in defeat to Angels

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 25, 2025

Published in Baseball

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Pittsburgh Pirates appeared well on their way to their first sweep after going up three runs in two innings. The Angels fought back from there.

The Angels scored four unanswered runs — three off starter Carmen Mlodzinski and a Zach Neto solo homer off reliever Chase Shugart in the eighth inning — to win 4-3 on Thursday at Angel Stadium and avoid a three-game sweep.

Pirates first baseman Matt Gorski hit a home run in his first career plate appearance, but Pittsburgh did little from there. Gorski finished 1-for-4 in his major league debut.

The Pirates started hot. Center fielder Oneil Cruz crushed Tyler Anderson’s second pitch of the game for a solo homer, his third leadoff shot of the year and seventh homer overall. It didn’t travel as far as Wednesday’s, traveling a “mere” 398 feet, but it was still a homer in all 30 ballparks.

They tacked on another in the inning. Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen, in the lineup for the third consecutive game, hit a double to the left-center field gap, then advanced to third on a single from catcher Joey Bart. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes hit what looked to be a double play ball but beat out the throw to first to allow McCutchen to score.

Then came Gorski’s moment. Gorski quickly fell behind 0-2 in his first career major league at-bat but extended the appearance with a couple of foul balls. On the seventh pitch, he clubbed a high fastball from Anderson for his first-ever big-league home run.

Mlodzinski continued his troubling pattern in the fourth. The right-hander, a converted reliever, started the game with three scoreless innings before giving up some hard contact when facing batters for a second time. The first three batters of the fourth went like this: a Mike Trout triple, a Taylor Ward single and a Logan O’Hoppe home run. In a blink, the 3-0 lead was gone.

Mlodzinski recovered for a scoreless fifth, finishing his day by giving up three runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four. It was just the second time this season he’d completed five innings, but it didn’t quite silence those who think Mlodzinski would be more effective as a reliever.

Right-handed reliever Kyle Nicolas threw two scoreless innings after Mlodzinski, retiring all six batters he faced and striking out three. Neto’s homer in the eighth was the only run the Pirates bullpen allowed in the series, as it had previously thrown 10 scoreless innings.

It was over when ...

... Angels reliever Kenley Jansen, throwing for injured closer Ben Joyce, got the save in the ninth. He pitched around a misplay that allowed pinch hitter Adam Frazier to reach, getting Cruz to line out to right to end the game.

On the mound

Anderson was hit hard in the first three innings but settled down to throw a strong six. He retired the final 11 batters he faced, striking out just two.

The Pirates outhit the Angels 9-6. They had more hits in all three games and showed positive signs in the series but could not muster enough late for a series sweep. The Pirates faded late against the Angels bullpen, having just two hits in the final six innings.

Most valuable player

Neto. The Angels shortstop went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. While O’Hoppe’s homer plated more runs, Neto’s was the game winner.

Up next

The Pirates have a doozy of a matchup on Friday night. They’ll travel across town to face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who will throw their generational Cy Young candidate Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 0.93 ERA) against the Pirates’ generational Cy Young candidate Paul Skenes (2-2, 2.87). The game, which starts at 10:10 p.m. EST, will be nationally televised on MLB Network and locally televised on SportsNet Pittsburgh.