ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Angels opened up a three-game series with Miami, but couldn’t stop a season-high 16 hits from the Marlins. Los Angeles snapped their four-game streak to the Marlins, 6-2. The Halos put up a fight that saw them get within one run twice, but Jorge Soler homered for the fourth straight game and Bryan De La Cruz had four hits while the Angels struggled to get their bats going. Mike Trout finished with an RBI single, Brandon Drury hit his eighth homer and Gio Urshela had three hits. For Miami, Jesús Luzardo only allowed one run from the Halos in five innings while striking out seven.

“He had our number last year, too. He’s really talented, and when he throws strikes like that he’s hard to hit,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “We had 10 hits and drew a couple walks. We just didn’t get a big one to get runs across.”

Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game:

Sam Bachman shows potential in MLB debut

Sam Bachman was called in with challenging circumstances. A shaky night for the Angels’ offense, a frustrating outing from Reid Detmers and a 5-2 deficit were all laid out when Bachman entered in the top of the eighth. He instantly threw his first major league strikeout and became the first top-10 pick from the 2021 amateur draft to play in the MLB. “I was just trying not to fall over when I was running out there,” Bachman said. “My heart rate was definitely up. I was looking around and taking it all in.” The rest of his performance was not as consistent with some wild breaking balls, but he limited the damage nonetheless. Bachman threw 47 pitches, including 27 strikes and walked two. He hit 96-97 mph consistently while throwing cutters and sliders. Now, the only thing missing for Bachman is control. There was some hesitation from fans as to how Bachman would adjust from using enhanced-grip baseballs during his time in AA. In Rocket City, Bachman was 3-2 with a 5.81 ERA in six starts. He struck out 29 hitters but also issued 20 walks. For the Angels, though, Bachman provides high-velocity pitching which they have lacked and can throw for multiple innings.

Reid Detmers struggles deep into game

Detmers has been giving Halo fans an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu at the mound this year. He places his pitches and stacks strikeouts early, only to lose control of the reins towards the end of games. In his last start against the Twins, Detmers threw 10 strikeouts within the first five innings. He went on to strike out the first hitters to open the sixth inning. Those K’s were followed up with a walk and two singles that saw him exit the game. A 3-0 Angels lead turned into a 3-3 tie shortly thereafter. Friday’s series opener was like déjà vu all over again. Detmers opened the game retiring his batters 1-2-3 in the first inning. That was followed up with three straight singles given up. One of those singles gave Miami the 1-0 lead. Later, Detmers opened up the sixth frame giving up four straight hits. He struggled to get through the order the third time around and saw Miami gain a 3-1 lead before exiting. He left Jacob Webb with bases loaded and no outs; Webb stranded them all. His performance against Miami certainly was not the worst outing, but the time is ticking for Detmers to make any sort of standout this year. Outside of his outing in Boston in April, Detmers has not been able to complete six innings in a game this year. In innings 1-3 Detmers has a 2.25 ERA. In innings 4-6, he has an 8.82 ERA. It’s stats like those that have led him to 0-4 on the season.

Gio Urshela thrives against left-handed pitching

In a night where power hitters such Shohei Ohtani struggled at the plate, Gio Urshela served as the consistent catalyst for the Halos. Urshela went 3-4 with one stolen base in only his second career bout against left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo. Urshela had only faced Luzardo once two years ago in which he hit a home run. “Luzardo’s a pitcher who throws really hard,” Urshela said following the game in 2021. “So I’m trying to stay short and trying to swing (at) a ball in the zone.” Prior to Friday, Urshela was hitting .378 with an .812 OPS against left-handed pitchers. Now, he has 20 RBI’s and is hitting .310 for Anaheim this year, which these days feels a lot like .395.

Next up, the Angels will have the chance to tie their series with Miami on Saturday as Ohtani will take the mound. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:07 PST.