Growing up in Italy, it would’ve been a much more conventional path for Sam Aldegheri to pick playing soccer over baseball. But Aldegheri took a different route and he’s been making the most of being a rare European-raised Major Leaguer, including throwing five strong innings in a spot start in a 4-3 win over the Rays in the series opener on Friday night at Angel Stadium. Aldegheri, ranked as the club’s No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline, allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts to improve to 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA this season. So, while it wasn’t quite as big of a stage as the World Cup -- which took place just 40 miles away at SoFi Stadium on Friday night -- Aldegheri was pleased to make the most of his opportunity on the baseball diamond instead of the soccer pitch. “You’ve got to throw strikes and attack these guys because, at the end of the day, confidence is the most important thing for me,” Aldegheri said. “I'm really glad that they gave me the opportunity to start tonight. I wanted to show that I'm able to handle these games.” Aldegheri, who pitched for Team Italy in this year’s World Baseball Classic, made the start with an open spot in the rotation because right-hander Jack Kochanowicz is set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old got the nod after faring well in relief, including throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Rockies on June 2 and giving up an unearned run in extra innings against the Astros on Monday. And with his solid showing against Tampa Bay, he could remain as one of the club's five starters. “He certainly made a case,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He pitched his butt off tonight and definitely put himself in the conversation.” He ran into trouble early, loading the bases with two outs in the first, but got Ben Williamson to fly out to deep center field to get out of the jam. He settled down from there, retiring 10 in a row before he walked Chandler Simpson on six pitches to open the fifth despite getting ahead with an 0-2 count. “Nothing really changed. I just mentally tried to attack the zone,” Aldegheri said. “You have to be able to flip the switch and be like, ‘OK, you better just do it, just do what you need to do.’”
