Caden Dana is the youngest Angels pitcher to win in his debut

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Caden Dana became the youngest pitcher in Angels history to win his major league debut as Los Angeles rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

“That’s pretty cool to hear,” Dana said.

The right-hander allowed two runs and two hits in six innings. At 20 years and 259 days, he was the Angels' youngest pitcher since reliever Francisco Rodríguez in 2002 and the youngest starter since Frank Tanana in 1973.

Dana (1-0) is also the first pitcher in his major league debut to last at least six innings and allow two or fewer runs at his age or younger since Houston's Jordan Lyles (20 years, 244 days) on May 31, 2011 against the Chicago Cubs. In the American League, this is the first time since Joel Davis (20 years, 215 days) of the White Sox on August 11, 1985 against Milwaukee.

“He didn't let any inning affect how it went, and that shows he has a certain composure. He proved to himself that he can pitch at the major league level,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He pitched when he needed to. He used his fastball, couldn't land his breaking ball as consistently as he wanted to, but he landed them when he needed them.”

Taylor Ward extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a home run and Anthony Rendon provided the decisive hit with a two-run single in the fifth inning.

“It's fantastic. It was special. Everyone behind me played well,” said Dana, who had four strikeouts and four walks. “It was a good feeling to get a win like that. Getting a win like that helps in the next game.”

Luke Raley hit a home run for Seattle, whose record fell to 5-4 since Dan Wilson replaced Scott Servais as manager on August 22.

Bryce Miller (10-8) allowed three runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Dana, who led Double-A with 147 strikeouts, appeared in the MLB Futures Game in July and is considered the Angels' top pitching prospect. An 11th-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, Dana went 9-7 with a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts for Rocket City before being called up Friday.

“Honestly, I was really nervous and after the first pitch, it all went away. The two quick outs definitely gave me the confidence to trust myself,” Dana said.

He threw 52 of his 95 pitches as strikes. He got two consecutive walks with two outs in the fifth inning before striking out Victor Robles to end the inning.

“I thought he had enough secondary stuff to complement the fastball and throw us off the pace just enough,” Wilson said. “He got in the game far enough that their bullpen could take control.”

Ben Joyce made his fourth save in the scoreless ninth inning.

Dana struck out the first five batters before Raley hit a fastball up the middle and blasted it 433 feet into the left-center stands to tie the game at 1-1. Six of Raley's 16 home runs have come since Aug. 1.

The Angels got on the scoreboard quickly when Ward hit his second home run in three games. The shot to center went just over the wall after Julio Rodriguez mistimed his jump. It was Ward's 19th home run, one shy of the team leader.

Seattle's Josh Rojas opened the third with a ground-rule double down the left field line. He moved to third base on a Leo Rivas grounder and scored on a Robles sacrifice fly to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.

The Angels regained the lead in the fifth inning when Rendon gave them the lead with a single to left, bringing in Ward and Zach Neto after Rivas failed to make a low liner catch at shortstop.