Jack Kochanowicz records quality start vs. White Sox

ANAHEIM — After scuffling in his first two Major League starts, right-hander Jack Kochanowicz has bounced back to go on an impressive run to put himself in a good spot heading into next season.

Kochanowicz, who graduated from prospect status last week, kept it going with seven strong innings in a walk-off 4-3 win in 13 innings over the White Sox on Wednesday afternoon at Angel Stadium. Fellow rookie Jordyn Adams proved to be the hero with a game-winning RBI infield single for his first career walk-off hit but tipped his cap to Kochanowicz for keeping them in the game.

“It feels good, but I can’t take all the credit,” Adams said. “We weren’t in that position just because of me, it’s because [of] the teammates who put me in that position. [Kochanowicz] shoved and put us in position to have that moment.”

After allowing 11 earned runs over seven innings in his first two starts to get demoted back to Double-A Rocket City, Kochanowicz has posted a 3.05 ERA in 44 1/3 innings over his last seven outings, including six quality starts since rejoining the rotation on Aug. 11.

His lone blemish was surrendering a solo homer to Andrew Vaughn on a first-pitch sinker in the fourth inning. Keeping the ball in the park has surprisingly been a bit of an issue for Kochanowicz despite leaning heavily on his sinker. He’s served up exactly one homer in seven of his nine starts this year.

Otherwise, Kochanowicz was again efficient, needing just 79 pitches to get through seven frames for the second time in his career. He threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of the 26 batters he faced and induced nine grounders, including a double play in the seventh.

“He had a great sinker working, he really did,” manager Ron Washington said. “He had them on top of the baseball all day. He gave up that one to Vaughn but after that, he did easy work. After he got through the seventh, he was only at 79 pitches, but it wasn’t about the pitch count. It was more about facing the lineup for a fourth time.”

His sinker was again his bread and butter, throwing it 57 times. It topped out at 98 mph while averaging 96 mph. He also mixed in 12 four-seamers, eight curveballs and two changeups. It allowed him to generate 10 swings and misses, including five with his sinker and four with his four-seamer en route to striking out a career-high five batters.

“I was able to use my four-seamer pretty naturally today,” he said. “Just been working on it and didn’t shy away from the game plan of pairing it with my sinker.”

The 23-year-old is one of several young starters trying to make an impact and turn some heads going into next year. The Angels also got a look at No. 1 prospect Caden Dana, who struggled in consecutive starts, on Sunday before shutting him down for the season, as well as No. 8 prospect Sam Aldegheri before a blister on his left middle finger ended his season on Sunday.

Lefty Reid Detmers, 25, is also getting a chance to try to finish strong down the stretch, while fellow lefty José Suarez, 26, is rejoining the rotation with something to prove as he heads into arbitration as a potential non-tender candidate.

Right-hander José Soriano, 25, is also expected to be a big part of the rotation next year despite being out for the year with right arm fatigue, while No. 3 prospect George Klassen and No. 5 prospect Ryan Johnson could also pitch their way into the mix next season.

Kochanowicz has put himself firmly on the club’s radar for next season with his recent stretch. He’s not likely to ever be a huge strikeout pitcher — he has just 20 in 51 1/3 innings this year — but can still be effective because of the quick outs he gets with his sinker. He’ll have to cut down on giving up homers going forward but has shown plenty of promise.

“I definitely want to have some confidence going into next season but I feel good about what I’ve been able to do so far and I just want to continue to do that,” Kochanowicz said. “I’m not worried about the strikeouts. As long as I get my groundouts, I know I am where I want to be. But the strikeouts will come. Just have to keep using that four-seamer.”