Garrett Richards' Uneven 2015 Debut Still Offers Signs of Hope for Angels

If there is such a thing as a heartening loss, Garrett Richards and the Los Angeles Angels took one Sunday.

Oh, it would have been a lot cooler if Richards had strode out to the mound for the first time since last summer and dominated like he never left.

Instead, the right-hander lasted five innings, surrendering five hits and three earned runs with four strikeouts and four walks in a 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros. 

"Obviously, I have some things I have to tighten up," Richards said after the game, per MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. "But it wasn't a terrible first outing."

So the results weren't great. But the stuff mostly was, as Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register noted:

Richards hasn't pitched in a big league game in almost exactly eight months; there are bound to be some cobwebs.

What the Halos wanted—and what they got—was a glimpse of the guy who morphed into a rotation-anchoring stud in 2014.

Before he tore a tendon in his left knee covering first base on August 20, Richards was easily the Angels' best starter, and one of the top arms in the American League.

The 26-year-old set career bests in innings pitched (168.2), ERA (2.61) and strikeouts (164). The Angels still finished with 98 wins in his absence and ran away with the AL West. But they missed Richards dearly in the playoffs and were ultimately swept in the division series by the Kansas City Royals. 

Elise Amendola/Associated Press/Associated Press

This year, the AL West is again ripe for the picking. The Seattle Mariners, a popular preseason pick, have stumbled out of the gate, and the Astros, Oakland A's and Texas Rangers all have warts.

With reigning AL MVP Mike Trout leading the charge (and threatening to get even better), Los Angeles could easily march back to October.

If the Angels are going to get there—and enjoy some success once they arrive—they'll need a full-strength Richards. 

So far this season, Angels starters have posted an unsightly 4.78 ERA. Jered Weaver, the ostensible ace, has coughed up 21 hits and 12 earned runs in 16.1 innings pitched.

That's not to say Los Angeles is hosed in the pitching department. Hector Santiago leads the team with a 2.92 ERA, Matt Shoemaker has won both of his starts and bounce-back candidate C.J. Wilson has held opponents to a .187 batting average.

Add Richards to the mix, though, and suddenly the Angels' starting five looks a lot more formidable.

As Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times points out, a healthy and effective Richards allows the Halos' other starters to slide into more comfortable roles. Weaver, whose declining velocity (tracked by FanGraphs) continues to sound alarm bells, is no longer tasked with being No. 1, and Santiago moves down to solidify the No. 5 spot. 

The question now: Can Richards hold up? Was the knee injury a fluke or a harbinger of trouble to come? Richards doesn't have a long MLB track record; he made his debut in 2011 and has yet to eclipse 200 innings in the big leagues.

He got a chance to cover first on Sunday and came away clean, as DiGiovanna noted:

Still, even Richards has doubts, by his own admission.

"This far along, I know in my heart that my leg is ready to go," Richards said after a recent Triple-A rehab start, per Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports. "Mentally, though, is another thing. That's just something that I'm going to overcome with time."

All statistics current as of April 19 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.