Angels fall to Oakland Athletics, 5-1, but Tyler Skaggs is encouraged by his start

Always a top prospect, Angels left-hander Tyler Skaggs reached the major leagues one month after he turned 21. Starting a major league game is not new to him.

Yet since he underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2014, it has become anything but routine. On Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum, Skaggs made only his 11th start in the last 33 months. It was an imperfect effort in the Angels’ 5-1 loss to the Athletics, but one that encouraged him.

“It was fun,” Skaggs said. “Besides the third inning, everything was really good.”

Skaggs alternated notching strikeouts and doling out walks to the first four batters he faced, then induced a flyout from Ryon Healy to escape the first inning. He retired the side in order in the second before the troublesome third, which coincided with the day’s heaviest rain.

Adam Rosales jumped a first-pitch fastball and singled to right-center. After Rajai Davis popped out in foul ground, Marcus Semien slapped a single to center, and the ball scooted along the wet grass past Mike Trout’s glove. Semien scampered to third base and scored on a sacrifice fly. With a runner on first base after a walk, Healy approached the plate.

Skaggs’ first pitch to the Encino Crespi High graduate was a ball. Healy whacked the second pitch, a fastball, some 430 feet to left field for a two-run home run.

“I wanted it outside,” Skaggs said. “It was right down the middle.”

At that point, Skaggs said, he instructed himself to channel the anger that he felt into his pitching. He retired seven consecutive Athletics.

“It’s one of those things where I’ve gotta pitch frustrated, I’ve gotta pitch mad,” he said.

Skaggs continued into the sixth, in which a Khris Davis double and a run-scoring single by Trevor Plouffe brought his removal. Skaggs exited after 89 pitches, having struck out five, walked three, and allowed five runs.

“There were definitely some highlights and some things that got away from him,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “All in all, the stuff looked good. He lost some counts and the walks didn’t help, but the stuff is there.”

The Angels faced Oakland right-hander Andrew Triggs, a 28-year-old with a USC business degree, a funky delivery and a penchant for throwing low sinkers. He walked two more men than he struck out, but limited hard contact.

With two outs in the second inning, Andrelton Simmons poked a single into right-center field. He has appeared especially determined on the basepaths in this season’s first week, and he took off at a brisk pace Thursday. When Oakland right fielder Mark Canha bobbled the baseball, Simmons tried for second and reached it safely, sliding headfirst.

Triggs then walked Cliff Pennington, who was making his first start of the season at second base in place of Danny Espinosa. Catcher Carlos Perez, also making his first start, flied out to end the inning.

The Angels put up their lone run in the next inning, when Yunel Escobar singled and took second on a Rajai Davis error, third on a Kole Calhoun groundout, and home on an Albert Pujols groundout.

The Angels generated only five hits, none for extra bases. But through the four games they split with Oakland, the bigger concern is the starting rotation. The Angels’ top pitchers all failed to finish six innings after an offseason in which Scioscia said the key to the season was to find more quality starts.

They have not located them yet.

“We’ve got confidence in our rotation,” Scioscia said, “but they’re going to have to do a better job to get a little deeper into games.”

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura