Ryan

Johnson

Johnson’s velocity was up a couple ticks across the board on his entire arsenal as he managed to cruise in the early stages of this one, carrying a shutout into the fifth inning before Roman Anthony took him deep for a two-run blast. He also surrendered a solo shot to Wilyer Abreu in the ensuing frame. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts dating back to August 6. He draws a favorable home matchup against the Mariners his next time out on Tuesday.

Johnson gave up four hits, walked two and struck out six. He fell to 3-8 in 18 appearances (15 starts). Johnson had a 1.71 ERA in five starts in August and continued his excellent run of pitching in his first start of September. It’s still difficult to really buy into Johnson as he still has a 5.17 ERA and 5.36 xFIP on the season. He’s lined up to face the Red Sox on the road next week.

Johnson gave up two hits, walked five and struck out two. The walks remain a concern, though Johnson mostly pitched out of trouble for five innings Saturday. He has a 1.72 ERA with 16 walks and 15 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings in August. Johnson is lined up to face the Pirates on the road next weekend.

Johnson gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three. He improved to 3-7 with the win. While the results were excellent, there’s not much in Johnson’s profile that suggests they’re repeatable. Johnson lowered his ERA to 5.75 and still has a 5.38 xFIP. He’s not lined up for another start at the moment.

Johnson gave up just a pair of solo homers, but that was two more runs than Noah Cameron allowed in his one-hitter Sunday. Johnson has pitched well in his three August starts, giving up just four runs over his 14 1/3 innings to lower his overall ERA to 6.41. He’ll try and keep it going over the weekend against the Rangers.

Johnson held the Rangers to one run into the fifth inning on Tuesday. The one run came on a leadoff homer by Joc Pederson in the first inning. Johnson scattered two more hits and two walks, striking out five before departing at 84 pitches with one out in the fifth inning. The 24-year-old right-hander will take a 6.71 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and a 43/27 K/BB ratio across 55 innings into a start against the Royals in Anaheim on Sunday.

All five walks happened in the first three innings, but the only extra-base hit the Orioles were able to muster against the Angels was Yohel Pozo’s solo homer. None of the underlying numbers look particularly good for Johnson -- 17 percent whiff rate, five hard-hit balls -- and he and his 7.11 ERA would be a tough player to trust against the Rangers next week.

The Angels sent Johnson down Saturday knowing that they could quickly recall him after trading a pitcher or two and that’s what they did. He’s still a part of the rotation, and he’ll likely face the Orioles on Thursday.

This could be a very brief demotion for Johnson, as the Angels would be able to recall him immediately after trading a pitcher. He obviously wasn’t going to be available for several days after giving up five runs in 4 1/3 innings in his start Friday against the Brewers.

Johnson walked three and struck out three. He finishes July having gone 1-3 with a 7.89 ERA in his five starts. It would be time for the Angels to think about trying someone else in the rotation, but since they’re likely to trade at least one starting pitcher, they probably won’t have that luxury. Johnson is due to face the Orioles on Thursday.