Angels Manager Sends Message to Jack Kochanowicz Following Nightmare Start

The Los Angeles Angels optioned starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz to Triple-A on Aug. 11 after he gave up five or more earned runs in three of his last four starts.

Hoping he was ready to return to the big leagues, the Angels recalled Kochanowicz to start in Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers. 

But Kochanowicz’s start was the worst of his career. 

He gave up three home runs, nine hits, 11 runs and hit a batter. The right-hander also walked three batters and only struck out one in 3.1 innings to open the Angels’ 20-3 defeat to the Rangers.

Kochanowicz told Jeff Fletcher the Orange County Register he was disappointed with his performance but knows he can work through his issues.

“It’s tough,” Kochanowicz said. “It’s obviously tough. It’s not a fun time out there, but I feel good. I’m young. I’ll figure it out.

“I think I’m just not confident in myself enough out there at the moment. You’ve really got to trust your stuff to have success. And I’ve said it a ton, a ton of times last year, I was just really trusting my stuff. I just need to get back to that.”

Although Kochanowicz has struggled through his sophomore season, interim manager Ray Montgomery has not given up on him. 

“You don’t want to let the one year or parts of a year define your career or who you are,” Montgomery said of Kochanowicz. “He’s 24 years old. He’s got a bright future, and we’re trying to work through the different scenarios of what he needs to do to continue to be successful here or to gain success here, and we just have to get back to the drawing board a little bit and get him on that track.”

Montgomery also said Kochanowicz’s mentality will help him navigate his problems on the mound. He has not lost his belief that he can develop into a dominant starting pitcher.

“He’s down,” Montgomery said. “He’s taking a few hits. Call it what it is. He’s taking a few hits. He knows that. Just in talking to him after the game, the good thing about him is he knows sort of the reality of that. He’s taking it head on, and he’s not running from it. So that’s good.”

The Angels optioned Kochanowicz's after Wednesday night's game, and he will head back to Triple-A to continue figuring out how to improve.

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