PITTSBURGH — Walbert Ureña gave the Angels everything they could ask for. The lineup couldn’t give him anything back.
Ureña matched Pirates ace Paul Skenes pitch for pitch into the eighth, but one mistake was the difference as the Angels dropped the series finale 1-0 to Pittsburgh on Sunday at PNC Park.
The right-hander was excellent, allowing just three hits and a walk over eight innings with four strikeouts. His only blemish came in the third, when Henry Davis turned on a fastball and drove it out to left field for his ninth homer of the season, the only run either team would need. Everything else out of Ureña was clean work, and he stranded the traffic Pittsburgh did manage. He was good enough that the Angels never had to turn to their bullpen at all, going the full eight before Pittsburgh’s lead made a bottom of the ninth unnecessary. It dropped Ureña to 9-10 on the year even as his ERA fell to 2.74.
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Sep 6, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Walbert Urena (57) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Skenes matched him for as long as he lasted. The Pirates’ ace worked 5 1/3 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a walk with two strikeouts, and turned the game over to a bullpen that made sure the lead held up. Gregory Soto, Carmen Mlodzinski and Camilo Doval combined for 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run, and Mason Montgomery worked around a walk in the ninth to close it out for his 10th save. Skenes improved to 10-11.
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Sep 6, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Angels’ best chance came and went in the fifth. Zach Neto was hit by a pitch to open the inning, and Mike Trout followed with a line-drive double to center, his 22nd of the year. But Neto never scored. Oneil Cruz ran it down in center and fired a relay through Brandon Lowe to catcher Henry Davis, who tagged out Neto trying to score from first, and Trout was stranded one out later. It was as close as Los Angeles came to breaking through all afternoon, and the kind of sequence that decides a game this tight.
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Sep 6, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout (27) hits a double during the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
There wasn’t much else to speak of. Wade Meckler, Neto and Christian Moore each added a single, Trout picked up a second hit in the eighth, and Josh Lowe drew a pair of walks. The Angels even threatened in the ninth, when pinch-hitter Kyren Paris drew a walk after a Henry Davis pitch-result challenge upheld the call, but Denzer Guzman, pinch-hitting for Adam Frazier, flew out to right to end it. Los Angeles finished with five hits, one extra-base knock and nothing to show for either.
It capped a series the Angels still won two games to one, with Yusei Kikuchi’s shutout gem on Saturday standing as the highlight. Ureña’s effort Sunday was nearly as good, just on the wrong side of the only run that mattered.
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Sep 6, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Mike Trout (27) looks on from the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The loss drops Los Angeles to 53-69 on the season. The Angels now turn around for a Labor Day series opener against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, with first pitch again scheduled for an early 10:35 a.m. PT start.
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