Johnson Powers Angels To A 5-1 Win Over Orioles With Best Start of His Young Career

The Los Angeles Angels have been waiting for right-hander Ryan Johnson to show the kind of stuff that’s made him a highly-regarded prospect, and last night Johnson did just that as he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the Halos’ 5-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles. 

This was the last thing anyone was expecting, as Johnson wound up allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out six hitters in six innings. The no-hitter was broken up on a single by infielder Jeremiah Jackson, but a double play ball to former Angel Taylor Ward prevented any further trouble from developing. 

“I feel great,” Johnson said after his third career start in a piece written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “You can't feel anything but great after that. That's exactly what I wanted to do.”

One person who may have seen this coming was Angels manager Kurt Suzuki. Johnson’s last start was in Sacramento against the Athletics, and while he did give up give runs in the first in that one, the 23-year old was also able to shut down the A’s for four innings after that. 

“He picked up where he left off the last four innings in Sacramento when he shut them down,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He was kind of the same, he was attacking with the fastball, threw some good cutters, some sweepers, changeups, and I thought he was just executing pitches down in the zone and up when he had to be. So I thought he was great.”

Johnson has had a rough go of it with the Angels, as he failed badly as a reliever last year after unexpectedly making the team out of spring training. But he’s been dominant at Double-A since he was sent back several weeks ago, according to Bollinger, posting an ERA of 3.32 with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 20-13 innings. 

“I'm excited that he got two starts in a row,” Suzuki said. “Get into a little bit of a routine and see what he's got. This year was tough early. He had that one start in Chicago and then he got sick, and then he got hurt, and then it was just kind of a whirlwind there. So it’s nice to see him get a couple starts in a row and pitch well.”

The key for Johnson in this one was attacking the strike zone. His control has been all over the map in most of his previous outings, but this one was different. 

“Just staying aggressive and kind of trusting it,” Johnson said. “Having confidence that I belong here and being able to use all my pitches.”

The Angels didn’t need much offense in this one, but an early two-run homer from Nolan Schanuel gave them the early lead, which they then padded with a two-run single from Vaughn Grissom and a sacrifice fly from Jorge Soler as a trio of relievers shut down the O’s after Sammy Natera couldn't pick up Johnson and gave up a run in the seventh.