HOUSTON >> While four outings might not be enough to convince everyone that José Suarez is back, it’s done wonders for his confidence.

“I feel like it’s me now,” Suarez said. “I’m attacking the zone. My confidence is at 100%. I feel really good right now.”

The Angels left-hander endured a miserable April, with a 10.13 ERA in 16 innings. Over his four games in May, though, Suarez has a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings, with 12 strikeouts.

“He started off not too good, but the last few times we’ve given him the baseball, he’s gotten better and better,” manager Ron Washington said.

One of the main differences has been his fastball usage. In each of his last four outings, he’s thrown his fastball more and his changeup less. The changeup has always been one of his best pitches, but he said he’d become too predictable.

“I am trying to throw more fastballs because they are looking for my breaking pitches,” Suarez said.

Suarez threw his fastball 29% of the time in April, but he’s thrown it 44% of the time in May. Also, he’s gotten whiffs on 12 of 27 swings (44%) against his fastball.

The major-league average whiff rate on four-seam fastballs is 11%.

“To me, it looks like he’s more convicted in it,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe said of Suarez’s fastball. “He’s throwing it harder. He’s not just trying to jab with it. He’s trying to throw it. I think it makes his secondary stuff better.”

Suarez’s fastball is up slightly, from 92.9 mph in April to 93.4 mph in May.

“My fastball now is better than last year,” Suarez said. “Very good movement. I think it helps with my breaking pitches when I use more fastballs.”

Lesson learned

When Luis Rengifo was caught stealing third in the fourth inning Tuesday, it was a learning moment for Rengifo and Washington.

Stealing third with two outs is almost never a good idea, because the runner is already in scoring position when he’s at second. Making an out in that situation is costly.

In this case, Rengifo ended the inning when the Angels had two runners on for Willie Calhoun, who has been one of their hottest hitters.

Afterward, the Angels talked with Rengifo to make sure he realized his mistake.

Washington also acknowledged that perhaps he should have taken a more active role in preventing Rengifo from doing it. Washington has mostly given his baserunners the freedom to run when they choose.

“Sometimes in those situations, I’m just gonna have to start taking over,” Washington said. “Sometimes you give people leeway and then they show you that they need to be helped. We should have helped him last night. He made the mistake, but we should have helped him because of the situation. I should have definitely put the hold on and told him not to go. From this point on, when we’re in those situations. I’m going to take charge.”

Notes

Left-hander Matt Moore pitched a perfect inning Tuesday and his fastball velocity was back up to 93 mph, after it had dipped to 91 mph during his previous outing Friday. Washington said he believed having three days off helped Moore. “He looked real good,” Washington said. “He looked fresh.” ... First baseman Nolan Schanuel’s rollercoaster season was on the upswing again with five hits in the first two games in Houston. Washington was cautiously optimistic that Schanuel can maintain his performance for longer before another slump. “It’s gonna take more than three or four games,” he said. “I like to see it for about 15. It’s the consistency of at-bats. That’s all. It’s not so much getting the hits as it is the consistency of at-bats, and lately his at-bats have been consistent.”