Starter Walbert Ureña knocked out by line drive as Angels lose 7th straight

ANAHEIM - The Angels have been playing enough bad baseball that the last thing they need is to add bad luck to the mix.

Right-hander Walbert Ureña was pitching a shutout in the sixth inning when he was hit in the knee by a 103 mph comebacker.

That knocked Ureña out of the game, opening the door for a rough sequence for the beleaguered Angels' bullpen on their way to a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets on Friday night.

The Angels (12-21) have lost seven in a row, and they had a lead in the sixth inning or later in four of the last five.

There was no immediate word on whether Ureña was injured or if he just came out as a precaution. He was able to throw a couple of warmup pitches after getting knocked down by the Bo Bichette liner.

At the start of the inning, the Angels were up 3-0 and Ureña had only thrown 67 pitches.

After Ureña came out, left-hander Brent Suter was called from the bullpen, with Mets star left-handed hitter Juan Soto due. Soto yanked a ground ball through the right side, for a single.

An out later, Suter gave up another single. A ground ball then moved both runners into scoring position.

With right-handed hitting Marcus Semien due, Manager Kurt Suzuki brought in right-hander Chase Silseth, who he favors to get out of jams.

Silseth gave up a single up the middle, knocking in both runs. Silseth has entered games with 19 runners on base this season and he's allowed nine of them to score.

Right-hander José Fermin then gave up a solo homer to No. 9 hitter Ronny Mauricio in the seventh, putting the Mets ahead, 4-3.

A one-run deficit should not have been insurmountable, but the Angels hitters disappeared after the first inning.

Jorge Soler hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his seventh of the year. Nolan Schanuel followed with a single.

After that, the Angels didn't have another hit.

They scored a run in the third because Zach Neto was hit by a pitch, stole second, stole third and came home on a throwing error. After that, they didn't have anyone reach base over the final six innings.

Over the last three games, the Angels have scored a total of seven runs and managed only 11 hits.

While the bullpen and the hitters faltered, it was at least a positive night for Ureña until the comebacker.

He's now pitched well in two of his three starts. He gave up two runs in six innings in his first start, before getting knocked out in the fourth inning last time.

This time he didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning. In that inning he also walked two, loading the bases, before getting out of the jam when right fielder Jo Adell made a nice running catch.

Ureña added a perfect fifth.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 9:50 PM.