OC Register: Angels Notes: Looking ahead to a healthier Albert Pujols as he climbs HR list

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — As Albert Pujols climbs the home run leaderboard, Mike Scioscia is still optimistic that the slugger can return next season and climb at a more Pujols-like rate.

Pujols hit his 610th homer late in the Angels’ 10-1 victory on Tuesday night. The blast moved him past Sammy Sosa into eighth on the all-time list, and tops among players born outside of the United States.

With three more homers, Pujols will pass Jim Thome and move into seventh place. He is still 21 homers from passing Ken Griffey Jr. to move into sixth, and Scioscia is hoping that when Pujols is chasing that number next season, it will be a slightly different Pujols.

As of now, it looks like Pujols can head into an offseason without undergoing any type of surgery. He’s had three surgeries in the five winters he’s been with the Angels, and another time he was recovering from a torn plantar fascia that didn’t require surgery. He did not have any issues in the winter of 2014-15, and in 2015 he had his only All-Star season with the Angels, hitting 40 homers.

“There’s always been things he’s dealt with,” Scioscia said Wednesday. “The training has not been what he’s used to. This guys works extraordinarily hard on keeping his strength where he needs to be and he does as much as he can but sometimes the timing has truncated some of things he likes to do.

“If he’s ready to go, whenever our season ends, hopefully a couple months from now, he’ll get right into the swing of what he needs to do and I think it’ll have a positive effect on him for next year.”

Pujols was hitting .232 with a .661 OPS after Tuesday’s game, both career-lows. His team-leading 77 RBI have been his most positive contribution. Over his previous five games, he had hit .273 with a .924 OPS, including two homers.

The Angels are hoping for more weeks like that if they are going to push into the postseason.

“Some of the numbers aren’t Albert-like, but he’s still a force in the batter’s box,” Scioscia said. “He’s still hitting the ball hard. Hopefully he’s going to find holes and do what he can do.”

ESCOBAR UPDATE

Yunel Escobar took ground balls, did agility drills and did some hitting in the cage on Wednesday. Escobar, who is on the disabled list because of a strained oblique, could go on a rehab assignment in the next few days.

When he comes back, the Angels will have some decisions to make. Luis Valbuena has been playing third mostly in his absence, and he’s been at his most productive of the season. C.J. Cron, who has played first, has also hit well.

The Angels will need to find a way to wedge those three players into two spots, at first and third.

“Esky is obviously going to play third,” Scioscia said. “We’ll move some guys around and get bats in the lineup that we think are going to help us. On the offensive side, I don’t think it’s going to be a bad thing when you have some depth materialize.”

ALSO

Garrett Richards (biceps nerve irritation) is scheduled for a second simulated game on Friday, this one lasting three innings and about 45 pitches. Richards, who is in Arizona, will be evaluated after that workout to determine his next step, but it’s possible his next outing could be in a minor league game. The Angels are aiming to get Richards into the rotation in September, as soon as he can throw about 60 pitches. …

Ben Revere said his left knee was still sore on Wednesday, but he figured he could play again in a couple days. Revere had to come out of Tuesday night’s game after fouling a ball off his leg. …

Troy Scribner had no idea why he was pulled after just one inning of his start on Sunday for Triple-A Salt Lake City, but then he started to put the pieces together in his head. “I was kind of confused, and then I thought, Oh, maybe that’s good,” Scribner said. Scribner was in the Angels clubhouse on Wednesday, and he’ll start on Thursday in place of injured JC Ramirez. The short outing on Sunday was just to keep him sharp before pitching with three days’ rest on Thursday.

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