Pirates 1, Angels 0: Jones Fans Nine, Mangum's Double Is the Whole Offense

One double, nine strikeouts, zero drama after the second

September 4, 2026 - Pittsburgh - Konnor Griffin had not played since July 6. He scored from first base in the second inning on Jake Mangum's one-out double to right, and that was the only run either club scored.

Jared Jones struck out nine in six scoreless innings. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 at PNC Park. The Angels are 53-88, the worst record in the majors, and they have now lost 10 of 11. Pittsburgh has won five of six.

A 1-0 game can be a grind. This one was a second-inning decision that two starters spent the rest of the night defending.

Jones, 63 strikes, first win since July

Jones is 3-6. He had not won since July 18 against Cleveland, an eight-start drought. Friday he blanked the Angels on three hits, walked one, and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes.

Los Angeles opened the second with back-to-back singles. Jones got Christian Moore to foul out, then struck out Jose Siri and Adam Frazier. That sequence is the game as much as Mangum's double. The Angels put the first two on and left them there. They have been shut out 12 times this season.

Mike Trout singled. Vaughn Grissom singled and walked. Moisés Ballesteros singled and walked. Wade Meckler singled. Four hits as a club. Nobody past second base when it mattered. The Angels put traffic on and watched Jones, Dotel, and Montgomery take it back.

Wilber Dotel threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Mason Montgomery worked the ninth for his ninth save. Four-hitter. Ninth shutout of the year for Pittsburgh.

Griffin's first night back

Griffin, 20, missed two months after surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The Pirates signed him in April to a nine-year, $140 million contract, the richest in franchise history. His first game back, he reached and scored the only run.

Mangum went 1-for-3 with the RBI double. Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-4 with a double and did not drive anyone in, which is what a 1-0 box score does to a 2-for-4 night. Pittsburgh had five hits and left seven on base. The Pirates did not pile on. They did not need to.

Ryan Johnson took the loss, 3-8, and it is a hard-luck line: one run, four hits, six innings, six strikeouts, two walks. The Associated Press notes he has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts and has allowed zero or one run in five of those outings. He did his job. Jones did his a little louder.

José Fermin and Samy Natera Jr. each threw a scoreless inning after Johnson. The Angels' bullpen did not lose this. The second inning did.

What a 1-0 win is worth in September

Pittsburgh is 70-72. A shutout against the worst team in baseball is not a pennant. It is a night a young starter finally got a win, a top prospect scored in his first game back, and a bullpen finished a four-hitter.

Los Angeles is sliding in a way that no longer needs adjectives. Ten losses in 11 games. Twelve shutouts. Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65) starts Saturday against Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59). That is not a fair fight on paper. Friday was not a fair fight after the second inning either.

I am not dressing this up as a classic. It was a well-pitched 1-0 game that ended in the second and spent seven innings confirming it.

AthX Engine angle

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Jones at 27 pitching FP, the highest pitcher total on Friday. Johnson had 16 in the loss, seventh among pitchers. Pittsburgh's team score was only 5 FP. A 1-0 win with five hits does that. The pitching card still owned the night.

Fantasy points measure what a player did under platform scoring rules. Share prices also respond to market activity through dynamic pricing.

Nine strikeouts. One double. The Angels went home with another zero.

Marketplace

*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, AP recap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*