Andrew Heaney back on familiar turf as Pirates visit Angels

Andrew Heaney should feel right at home when he takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.

The 33-year-old left-hander has made more appearances at Angel Stadium (55, including 53 starts) than in any other major league ballpark, having played for the Angels from 2015-21.

Heaney hasn’t quite fulfilled expectations, with the former first-round draft pick (ninth selection overall) of the Miami Marlins compiling a 52-63 record with a 4.40 ERA in a major league career that began in 2014.

In Angel Stadium, however, Heaney has pitched well, going 18-13 with a 4.30 ERA. It also is the location of his only career shutout — he threw a complete-game one-hitter against the Kansas City Royals on June 5, 2018.

Heaney (1-1, 2.13 ERA) has reached double figures in wins only once in his career, going 10-6 for the Texas Rangers in 2023, but he’s off to a good start this season with Pittsburgh. He’s coming off a stellar performance, shutting out the Washington Nationals on five hits in 7 1/3 innings last Thursday in a 1-0 victory.

Heaney has pitched at least seven innings in two of his four starts and has allowed more than one run only once. He is 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA in six career games (four starts) against the Angels.

The Pirates, though, signed Heaney specifically to combat left-handed hitters at PNC Park, considering its hitter-friendly short porch in right field –320 feet down the line.

“His specific pitch repertoire, style, obviously we talked about the left-handed thing at PNC (Park),” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said of Heaney. “First and foremost, we’ve always liked him, like him as a pitcher, particularly like the fit with our team at PNC.

Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (1-2, 6.20 ERA) will start for the Angels on Wednesday, coming off bad performances in consecutive outings. He allowed 10 runs and 15 hits in 9 1/3 innings in losses to the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers on April 11 and last Thursday, respectively.

Despite going 2-6 for the Angels after being called up last July, Kochanowicz had a respectable ERA of 3.99 and walked only 10 hitters in 65 1/3 innings, earning an opportunity to compete in spring training for a job in the rotation.

“I thought that there was a lot of improvement,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He showed tremendous aptitude with being able to apply the things that we were trying to give to him on the fly. And he showed a tremendous heartbeat, and that’s why, I think toward the end of the year there, he had some pretty good starts for us. He has an idea of what his stuff is, and I think he learned how to use it.”

Kochanowicz has never faced the Pirates.

The Pirates got hot suddenly with 18 hits in Tuesday’s 9-3 win over the Angels, including three each from Bryan Reynolds, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tommy Pham.

–Field Level Media