Tyler Anderson stifles Giants as Angels end 4-game skid

ANAHEIM — On the night Zach Neto made his season debut, it was Tyler Anderson who once again set the Angels straight.

Neto did his part with an RBI double in his first at-bat, but it was Anderson who turned halted the team’s four-game losing streak with six strong innings in a 2-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday to open a three-game series.

The last time the Angels won a game it was Anderson (2-0) who was on the mound Saturday in Houston. In fact, the Angels have won all four games the left-hander has started this season.

“I feel like we just needed to turn the page after that series (sweep) we had at Texas and get back to being ourselves,” Anderson said. “The great thing about this group is that I feel like it’s a bunch of resilient guys and everyone has fun together.”

Each time the veteran has taken the mound this season, he has managed to get better following two no-decisions early in the schedule. He allowed one hit over 5⅔ innings against the Astros last weekend before the Giants managed just three hits in Anderson’s six scoreless innings Friday.

“We were in a position where we needed somebody to step up and give us a good outing and it was Anderson again,” Manager Ron Washington said. “He kept it off the barrel of the bats, kept them off balance. He was certainly in control tonight.”

While Anderson walked 10 total batters over his first three starts, including four against Houston, he was far more efficient with two walks and six strikeouts against the Giants, who are in the thick of things early in a rugged National League West.

Anderson’s 96 pitches (64 strikes) came after he threw 95 pitches (56 strikes) against the Astros.

“I felt like coming out of spring, my delivery wasn’t great in those first couple so I was really battling, fighting myself in those games,” Anderson said. “I feel like I found something kind of after the first inning (in the second start) against Cleveland that I was like ‘OK, that feels like my delivery.’”

The Angels’ offense got to Giants starter Logan Webb early. Nolan Schanuel doubled with two outs in the second inning and Neto followed with a one-hopper at Giants shortstop Willy Adames that registered 106.4 mph off the bat.

“He looked like he’s been swinging the bat,” Washington said. “I looked at his numbers when he was down at Salt Lake City and he got close to 50 at-bats. I was wondering what would happen when he started facing better pitching, but it looked like he never missed a beat.”

The screamer not only skipped past Adames’ glove and into the outfield for a hit, Neto turned it into a double to score Schanuel. The play came with a level of concern after Neto dove into second base to beat the throw from center field.

The dive looked similar to the one last September in Chicago that resulted in the shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery and caused Neto to miss the first three weeks of the season.

“It wasn’t scary at all because he did it down at Salt Lake City,” Washington said.

Neto then scored when Kyren Paris’ ground ball toward shortstop was deflected into left field by Giants third baseman Matt Chapman.

Neto hoped he could do his part and he delivered almost instantly.

“I’m not looking forward to the stats right now,” Neto said. “I’m just making sure that I come back and play every game as healthy as possible. Whenever my name is in the lineup, I’m just trying to produce. This team, we’re not built on individual stats. We’re built on what we can do as a team to make sure we win the game that day.”

Anderson settled in from there. He gave up two singles in the third before he retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced, giving up a walk to Chapman in his final inning of work.

The Angels’ bullpen, last in the American League with a 5.91 ERA heading into Friday’s game, took care of things the rest of the way. Brock Burke and Ryan Zeferjahn each delivered a scoreless inning before Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth inning for his fifth save in his first outing since Saturday.

The save was also the 38th of Jansen’s career against the Giants, tied for his third-most against any opponent.

Asked before the game if he needed to get Jansen some work, Washington seemed to envision the evening before it even started.

“Today will probably be a definite day (to get Jansen on the mound) because we’re gonna go into the ninth with a lead,” Washington said, more hopeful than brash, but clairvoyant either way.