Angels’ Zach Neto, back, dumps Gatorade on Nolan Schanuel (18) after the Angels defeated the Mariners in baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Nolan Schanuel (18) reacts after the Angels defeated the Mariners in baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Mike Trout, left, looks down as trainer Mike Frostad, center, looks on and head coach Kurt Suzuki, right, walks after Trout is hit by a pitch during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Mike Trout reacts after being hit by a pitch during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Jeimer Candelario, left, and teammates celebrate with Nolan Schanuel (18) after he hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to defeat the Seattle Mariners in a baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Nolan Schanuel follows through on a swing after hitting a sacrifice fly to score Adam Frazier during the eleventh inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels pitcher George Klassen (58) throws to a Seattle Mariners batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Seattle Mariners’ Leo Rivas follows through on an RBI single against the Angels during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels pitcher George Klassen (58) reacts to an out during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Nolan Schanuel drops his bat after driving in a run against the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Seattle Mariners’ Cole Young celebrates with his teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run as Angels during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Angels’ Adam Frazier follows through on an RBI single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
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Angels’ Zach Neto, back, dumps Gatorade on Nolan Schanuel (18) after the Angels defeated the Mariners in baseball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
ANAHEIM — With his glove over his face as he walked off the field Sunday, George Klassen could breathe in both frustration and relief all at the same time.
The 24-year-old right-hander made his major league debut as a late replacement for right-hander Ryan Johnson, who fell ill, and had to bob and weave through the early innings.
It was far from the desired result as Klassen, who did not make it out of the third inning on 73 pitches, yet managed to show the fight the Angels hope will be a feature of his career.
The Angels had the rookie’s back, rallying back from three separate deficits to earn an 8-7 victory in 11 innings on a game-ending sacrifice fly from Nolan Schanuel. Shaun Anderson (1-0) gave up an unearned run over two innings to earn the win.
“Like we were talking about in (the locker room), what a team effort,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “We focused on the little things in spring training. It’s not going to be perfect, but we keep focusing. We stay the course. More times than not, I feel good about our chances.”
The victory appeared to come with a price as Mike Trout departed in the eighth inning after he was hit in the back of the left hand by a Casey Legumina pitch. X-rays came back negative, with Trout listed day-to-day moving forward.
The pitch off the hand came two days after Trout was hit in the shoulder by a 95-mph pitch from Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo.
“I think we know where they’re trying to get me out, (on) fastballs up and in,” Trout said, with his swollen hand in his left pocket. “It’s just frustrating. If you can’t control it up there, you shouldn’t do it. So it is what it is.”
Despite five walks and three hits allowed, Klassen held the Mariners to two runs over 2⅔ innings with four strikeouts.
One of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Klassen gave up an ambush double to Luke Raley on his first major league pitch but avoided damage in the first inning. Trouble arose in the second inning with three walks to the first four batters, followed by a two-run single from Leo Rivas.
In the third, a Josh Naylor bunt single and second walk of the game to Randy Arozarena had Klassen in trouble again, but he struck out J.P Crawford and got Cole Young to fly out to Trout at the base of the center field wall before he was removed.
“I was super excited. It was a blast, and I had a lot of fun,” Klassen said. “Obviously, some stuff happened, but overall, it was a great experience. There is always the want for more. I just had to go out there, give it my best and I had a lot of help from players and coaches over the spring.”
The Angels were even through three innings on a pair of RBI singles from Jorge Soler, went up 4-2 in the fourth on a run-scoring error by Seattle third baseman Leo Rivas and an RBI infield single from Schanuel.
A three-run home run by Young gave the Mariners a brief 5-3 lead in the fifth before the Angels answered with a game-tying single from Jo Adell and went up 6-5 on an RBI single from Adam Frazier.
The Mariners tied it in the ninth, getting a two-out RBI double from Cal Raleigh and a broken-bat RBI single from Julio Roidriguez off Sam Bachman. Both teams scored single runs in the 10th.
The Mariners had the bases loaded with two outs in the 11th before Anderson struck out Raleigh to set up Schanuel’s fly ball after a sacrifice bunt from Oswald Peraza moved Frazier to third base.
“If you look back at the first 10 games or so, the team wins, (it’s) the group, not just one guy,” Trout said. “Doing the little things, that’s big and how you win some games. We have a great group in here with good chemistry and we’re pulling for each other.”
Adell’s RBI hit came less than 24 hours after he robbed three potential Mariners home runs in a 1-0 victory Saturday.
“It fired the guys up,” Suzuki said Sunday. “We were talking about all spring, and again now, it’s the camaraderie, the tightness in that clubhouse. Everybody really pulling for each other to do well, and it can definitely get you going in the right direction.”
Klassen has more work to do to tap into the vibe.
In five spring appearances (four starts), Klassen had a 6.43 ERA over 14 innings, but most of that damage came in the Freeway Series when he gave up five runs with four walks in 2⅓ innings against the Dodgers. In his lone start at Triple-A Salt Lake, he gave up one earned run and took the loss.
With two outings from the Angel Stadium mound now complete, including the Freeway Series, the Angels hope Klassen can join what they believe will be a wave of young pitching. In addition to Johnson and Klassen, the club has high hopes for Caden Dana, Walbert Ureña and Tyler Bremner.
“He’s always had the stuff, and he was a lot more consistent in the zone and attacking hitters (in the spring),” Suzuki said. “So we really liked everything that he did for us.”