Alex Cobb looks strong in Angels debut

Alex Cobb got the start for the Angels on Monday, making his debut for the team. The 33-year-old right-handed pitcher was acquired during the offseason from the Baltimore Orioles.

• “My arm feels great,” Cobb said to the media following his outing. “The ball is jumping very well. I was happy with the curveball. Changeup and fastball location aren’t where I’d like it. Can’t be too critical after game one.”

Cobb threw only one inning, striking out one and issuing one walk. Angels manager Joe Maddon said to the media following the game he didn’t know what the velocity was, but that Cobb looked great out there. Cobb said he had been sitting 92-95 mph during his live BP earlier this week.

“He looked strong,” Maddon said. “He’s in experimental mode, trying different things. I thought it was a really good day for him.”

Cobb was 2-5 last season in Baltimore. He had an ERA of 4.30 with a 4.87 FIP and 1.34 WHIP. This past offseason, he went to Driveline to work on a few things, just like a lot more pitchers have been doing in recent years.

“I’ve never really been in this range this early in Spring Training or really any part of the season,” Cobb said. “I’m not trying to wrap too much around that thought. I think it’s a byproduct of cleaning everything else up.”

Other notables from game

• Albert Pujols had two hits and drove in two runs in his Cactus League debut
• Shohei Ohtani added two hits in the batters box. He’ll pitch later in the week
• Rough outing for Luke Bard, who allowed four runs in ¹⁄₃ of an inning
• Jeremiah Jackson is okay after being hit by a line drive