Ben Joyce finding his groove in return from shoulder surgery

Aug 5, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ben Joyce (44) throws during the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. ANAHEIM — A 710-day wait is a long time; just ask right-handed flamethrower Ben Joyce.  In his fourth appearance since returning from shoulder surgery, Joyce notched his first save since September 1, 2024, on Wednesday night.  It's been a longer wait than Joyce or the Angels have anticipated, due to bumps in the road to recovery. It took him 15 months to return to a big-league mound after having surgery in May of 2025. "I've been working for that for a while," Joyce said of his first save of the season. "I was probably not as nervous as my first one, but I definitely had some extra adrenaline getting out there in that situation again." The main reason why it took Joyce so long to return is that he had issues fully recovering from outings while on his rehab assignment. Now, though, he's back to feeling normal coming out of his outings.  "I feel like I've been in a good groove throwing-wise and even in between games, figuring out my rhythm and routine and everything," Joyce said. "So I feel like I'm in a good spot and stuff is feeling good." On Wednesday night, Joyce's fastball sat at 101.6 mph and topped out at 103.4 mph. Joyce said that he focused on finding his command with his fastball throughout his rehab process, and once that happened, the other pitches started to come together. He said his sinker and slider took longer to get the feel back, but they didn't require any modifications to the pitch grips or anything. Both pitches just needed more repetitions. "More so utilizing catch play to work on that feel," Joyce said. "Even long tossing with the other grips and whatnot, I think that played a big role in just getting the feel back for everything." Given the high-octane stuff, Joyce could be the team's set closer for the remainder of the season. Closers are often needed on back-to-back nights, which is something that pitchers fresh off of arm injuries typically avoid. Joyce said he feels good to do it, but the Angels are going to be cautious with the young fireballer.  "I think time will tell, but I think right now, as he's just coming back, we'll kind of slow play it a little bit," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. "But eventually, I believe he would be. Are we going to do it? I'm not sure if we are, but I think as he gets more time up here, I think the discussions will definitely happen." With six weeks left in the season, and the Angels well out of playoff contention, the Angels don't have to force the issue with Joyce pitching back-to-back nights. In the meantime, the main priority for Joyce and the Angels is to continue to focus on recovery.  "I'm happy with where it's at," Joyce said of his shoulder health. "It feels good right now."