Welcome back Nick Tropeano!!! Los Angeles Angels get key pitcher back

It has been a long road back for Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano. Tropeano had not pitched in a Major League regular season game since July 18th, 2016 in Texas.

When Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Tropeano took the mound Thursday night in Kansas City no one was sure what to expect.  Tropeano quickly announced his presence with authority striking four batters in his first two innings of work and ended up with six strikeouts in 6.2 innings.  Tropeano allowed six hits, but no runs and picked up his first victory since 2016 in helping the Angels to their fifth straight victory.

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Tropeano was aided by an Angel offense that has been on fire as of late although it took awhile for them to get it going as it was a 1-0 game until the 7th inning when they erupted for five runs to break the game open and the Angels cruised to a 7-1 victory.

Ian Kinsler also returned from the disabled list and got things started with his 47th career lead-off homer of his career that staked Tropeano to a 1-0 lead.  In the 7th inning Kole Calhoun gave Tropeano some breathing room with a two-run single.

With two outs and the bases loaded the early season catalyst Shohei Ohtani strode to the plate and lashed a three-run triple to right-center that broke the game open giving the Angels a 6-0 lead.  Mike Trout added a solo homer in the eighth for the Angels final run and the bullpen made it stand up for the victory that kept the Angels in first place with an 11-3 record.  This is the Angels best start after 14 games in club history.

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However the story was Nick Tropeano’s return from Tommy John Surgery.  Back in 2016 Tropeano was starting to show signs that he was going to be a starter the Angels could count on for years to come.  Tropeano was 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts striking out 68 batters in 68 innings that season before tearing his UCL in his right elbow.

Next: Angels vs. Royals, Halos try to keep streak going

With J.C. Ramirez done for the season and Matt Shoemaker’s return in question, Tropeano’s start was a Godsend for the Angels.  Hopefully he can prove to be consistent this season.  This would go a long way in helping the Angels get back to the playoffs.