Rookie starters get nod as Angels face White Sox in series finale

The Los Angeles Angels will try to win their first home series since early April when they face the Chicago White Sox in the decisive contest of their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.

To do it, they have a big obstacle to overcome.

Noah Schultz (2-1, 2.53 ERA), a 6-foot-10, 240-pound left-hander who is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the White Sox organization by MLB.com, will take the mound for Chicago. He will be opposed by hard-throwing right-hander Walbert Urena (0-3, 3.86).

It will be only fifth career start and first against the Angels for Schultz, who was a first-round pick (26th overall) in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Schultz, who has drawn comparisons to Randy Johnson for his size and wicked slider, comes in off an 8-2 win at San Diego on Friday that saw him allow just two hits over six scoreless innings while striking out two. He overcame a rocky first inning that saw him walk the bases loaded with two outs only to get out of the jam by inducing Ty France to ground out.

"You feel like he's not really pitching his best and he's still really tough to deal with for the opposition," Chicago manager Will Venable said. "That's how good Noah is. He's still figuring it out and can be effective even when he doesn't have his best command."

The White Sox pounded out 16 hits en route to winning the series opener, 6-0, on Monday. The Angels, behind Mike Trout's 415th career home run and homers by Zach Neto and Jorge Soler, bounced back for a 4-3 victory on Tuesday.

It was just the second win in 11 games for Los Angeles. The Angels haven't won back-to-back games since April 16-17, and have won just one home series all season. That came on April 3-5 when they took two of three games from the Seattle Mariners.

Neto, who homered five times in the first 14 games of the season, hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to give Los Angeles a 3-2 lead on Tuesday, his first home run since April 10. He had snapped a 0-for-23 drought with a single in the third inning.

"It felt good," Neto said of his go-ahead homer off Erick Fedde that traveled 410 feet to the back of the bullpen in left-center. "I was finally able to breathe again.

"It's been difficult. I've never been in this (kind of) slump, or whatever you want to call it, in my life. It's a learning experience for me. To be able to get out of it with a big homer and help us get a victory today is pretty special."

Urena, who relies on a power sinker that hits the high 90s, will be making his fourth major league start, and first against the White Sox. He had to leave his last start on Friday against the New York Mets in the sixth inning after taking a hard comebacker by Bo Bichette off the side of his right knee.

Before departing, Urena held the Mets to one run on two hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out four.

"I tried to stay in the game but they didn't want me to pitch in that situation," Urena said. "But I feel good. I think it was a pretty good start. Just trying to stay aggressive and clam with every pitch."

--Field Level Media