Learning on the job: Mederos battles in 2nd MLB start 

ANAHEIM -- There were a couple of innings where Victor Mederos was visibly frustrated when he walked off the mound on Monday night.

Even when he worked his way out of jams, the Angels starter felt like he could’ve executed better. He fell behind in counts and some of his pitches were too hittable. He wasn’t as efficient as he wanted to be.

“It was good to just be able to compete,” Mederos said after the Angels’ 4-1 loss to the Reds at Angel Stadium in the series opener. “That’s my biggest part. Being able to go out there and compete and give the team a chance to win every time I go out there. So, it’s just a matter of learning what I gotta do, learning what I gotta fix and just be better.”

Mederos made his mistakes early -- the biggest one -- a hanging changeup that Gavin Lux jumped on and drove the other way for a homer to put the Reds up by two runs in the early going.

But after weathering that four-hit first inning, Mederos settled in. He allowed two hits over his next two frames. Over five innings, the 24-year-old right-hander stranded nine runners. He allowed three earned runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts on 95 pitches.

All part of the process that comes with making your second career Major League start. Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery called it a “good growth day” for Mederos.

“He’s still a young guy,” Montgomery said. “He’s progressed from being quick to the big leagues in the bullpen, to now back in the big leagues as a starter. He gave us four good innings the other day, gave us five today. He battled through the ups and downs. He mixed and matched, he used his stuff.

“… He’s gonna get innings, so we’re gonna keep seeing him.”

Since making his first big league start a week ago against the Dodgers, Mederos has pitched in nine innings -- more than his entire usage as a reliever in 2023 and 2024 combined. He tweaked his mechanics over the last year, adding a cutter and a sweeper to “be more deceptive” with his pitches.

He threw that sweeper 30 times on Monday, and it was his most successful one -- he drew five swings and misses from it, accounting for half of his total whiffs.

Mederos’ biggest moment came in his final inning, when he faced a bases-loaded situation with one out. A run had already scored after Elly De La Cruz led off the inning with a triple (the first of three that the Reds hit on the night), and Cincy was threatening to blow the game wide open.

But Mederos went to his sweeper five times in a row -- all for strikes -- and got both Ke’Bryan Hayes and Matt McLain to pop out harmlessly to first, escaping the jam and keeping it a two-run game.

“That situation is just a matter of executing,” Mederos said. “Being able to get soft contact and putting guys away when you get them 0-2.”

Overall, Montgomery was pleased with the way Mederos was able to battle back from a tough first inning and keep the Angels in the game.

So was Mederos.

“I felt like that outing could’ve gone one of two ways,” Mederos said. “... It was just a matter of competing every single pitch, being able to execute, being able to give the team a chance.

“It was good to be able to look up and say, ‘Oh, we went five innings today.’”