TEMPE, Ariz. — In the end, the Angels came to a decision that seemed obvious a month ago.
Patrick Sandoval will be their Opening Day starter.
Sandoval, a 27-year-old left-hander who has started 84 games for the Angels over parts of the past five seasons, officially got the nod to start the March 28 opener at Baltimore on Tuesday.
“Really cool,” Sandoval said. “It’s a huge honor, obviously. Something you dream of as a kid growing up, being an Opening Day starter. I get to do it for my hometown team. It’s pretty cool.”
A product of Mission Viejo High, Sandoval was acquired by the Angels in a July 2018 trade with the Houston Astros. He reached the big leagues in 2019.
Sandoval has had control issues at times, and seen his pitch-count prevent him from getting deep in games. Both were evident during his disappointing 2023, when he had a 4.11 ERA. Over his career, though, he has a 3.83 ERA, including a 3.47 ERA since becoming a full-time starter in May 2021.
“I think when we came into camp, we wanted this to happen this way,” manager Ron Washington said. “And he took it and made it happen. And he’s supposed to take it and make it happen. Because his peers, the other pitchers that are on the staff with him, thought that he should have been the guy. He stepped up and became the guy.”
Despite Sandoval’s track record coming into the season, there were indications that the Angels might have been leaning toward right-hander Griffin Canning. Canning is scheduled to pitch Saturday, which is exactly five days before the opener. He’s also pitched consistently well throughout the spring. Washington has spoken in glowing terms about Canning being a leader on the staff.
Sandoval, meanwhile, gave up 11 runs in his second and third starts of the spring.
“My second and third starts didn’t really go as planned, but I made some adjustments and I hope showed them enough to have the faith in me to be the Opening Day starter,” Sandoval said.
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