Zach Neto ties Angels record with 20th home run by shortstop

DETROIT — Zach Neto realized the significance of his 20th homer of the season in Thursday afternoon’s 3-0 win over the Tigers at Comerica Park. It tied him for the Angels’ single-season record by a shortstop with Jim Fregosi, the original face of the new franchise in the 1960s.

Neto’s home run also gave Angels rookie Jack Kochanowicz a three-run lead in the fifth inning, and Kochanowicz later became the team’s first pitcher with four consecutive quality starts since Reid Detmers in 2023. Kochanowicz used his sinker to dominate over six innings, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out four.

Los Angeles broke a season-high seven-game losing streak by ending Detroit’s six-game winning streak.

Neto’s connection with Fregosi made his homer special — as the club’s first great player connected with its current rising star.

Neto did his homework on Fregosi after the Angels signed Neto, their 13th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Campbell University.

“At a mini camp, the day after I got drafted, we had a meeting with the whole Minor League camp,” Neto told MLB.com on Wednesday. “I actually got picked to speak on Jim Fregosi, his career and all of his accomplishments. So, I know him pretty well from the knowledge that I picked up. Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool.”

Neto is batting .254 and leading the Angels with 114 hits, 28 doubles, 64 RBIs, 23 steals and those 20 homers.

Fregosi, who played 18 seasons and was a six-time All-Star and an AL Gold Glove Award winner with the Halos in 1967, died in 2014 at age 71 in Miami — the same city Neto was born in 23 years ago. Fregosi managed for 15 seasons and accumulated 1,028 wins for the Angels, White Sox, Phillies (who won the NL pennant in 1993) and Blue Jays.

“There was a lot that impressed me about Jim Fregosi when I did my research,” Neto said. “Besides the fact that he’s an Angels Hall of Famer, hearing about the person he was. I got to talk to [Fregosi’s long-time second-base counterpart] Bobby Knoop. And being able to hear from him — and he was there when I talked about Jim — that was pretty cool.

“[Knoop] was saying I was spot-on describing him as a really good teammate, a really good guy — which goes a long way for him managing after he played. So, Jim made a good reputation for himself. Guys liked him. So, doing this is definitely an honor.”

Neto joined teammate Mike Trout as the only Angels with 20/20 seasons before age 24.

Angels manager Ron Washington said Neto was “chasing and wanting to make it happen” too much in regard to homer No. 20. However, Neto huddled with hitting coaches after Wednesday’s game and calmed down noticeably. There was no more swinging from his heels.

“Everybody knew I needed one more to get to 20,” Neto said. “I could be pressing, could not. It was me maybe just doing too much. But now, I’m just happy I was able to get it, get a pitch and have a pretty good quality at-bat with the result being a homer.”

Neto got into a 1-2 count before fouling off a slider, changeup and a sinker. Then he launched a knuckle curve from Keider Montero a Statcast-projected 400 feet.

“I’ve been getting the kitchen sink thrown at me by a lot of guys from Detroit,” Neto said. “Finally being able to do damage to a pitch that got left over the plate. I battled off a couple good pitches there.”

Reliever Ben Joyce came in with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth to strike out Spencer Torkelson with a 102.8 mph fastball. Joyce earned his third save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

“[Kochanowicz] was outstanding again,” said Washington. “He’s growing, man. He’s learning how to use his stuff, when to use his stuff. And the most important stuff is when it seems he’s in a little bit of trouble, he’s been able to correct himself. His sinker was working pretty good today.”

Kochanowicz is 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in four August starts since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City.

“I feel very good,” he said. “It’s a good spot to build off of and I just want to continue to get better with my offspeed.”