OC Register: Angels’ Chris Young homers again, taking advantage of his increased opportunities

[AngelsWin.com]

OAKLAND — Chris Young seems to have benefited from more regular time.

Young hit his third homer of the week in the Angels’ 6-5, 11-inning loss on Sunday, continuing his recent upturn.

Young’s average had dropped as low as .130 on May 19. In June, though, he’s hitting .235, but with a .316 on-base percentage and a .559 slugging percentage.

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Scioscia said it’s understandable that Young would have struggled early, when he was playing so sporadically behind Justin Upton, Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun.

For the past month or so, particularly after Calhoun went on the disabled list two weeks ago, Young has played much more.

“It’s not an easy role, for a young player or a veteran when you are not getting any looks for seven days,” Scioscia said. “Our outfield situation at the start of the season, we knew these guys were going to play virtually every day. As Chris has gotten more at bats and gotten more comfortable in the box, you are starting to see some of the things he can do. He’s definitely hitting the ball much better in his last 30-40 at-bats.”

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Calhoun had a hit and a walk in two plate appearances on Sunday in his rehab assignment at Triple-A. Scioscia said he’s still not sure how close Calhoun is to returning to the majors.

THANKS, DAD

Cam Bedrosian had a disappointing result for a respectable outing on Sunday. He entered with two outs and the tying run at second, and gave up a blooper that fell for a game-tying single.

Bedrosian added a scoreless 10th. Although he wasn’t charged with a run in 1-1/3 innings, he was nonetheless charged with a blown save.

Scioscia had no blame for Bedrosian.

“Cam’s stuff has really picked up,” he said. “Guy hits the ball off the end of the bat and bloops it in. You aren’t going to give that any extra thought.”

It is likely that Bedrosian got the same message from his father, appropriately enough, on Father’s Day. Bedrosian said he is in touch with his father, Cy Young winner Steve Bedrosian, after every outing.

“He’s always got something for me,” the younger Bedrosian said before Sunday’s game. “He’s been a big influence. Honestly most of what I’ve been taught throughout my career is from him.”

The mechanics of pitching can come from a lot of coaches, but Bedrosian said his father — a closer for much of his 14-year career — has helped in particular with the mental side of dealing with success and failure in the big leagues.

Although there’s been a fair amount of the latter this year, Bedrosian doesn’t seem to lack for confidence, which is probably from his father.

“Stay tough, man,” Bedrosian said, echoing words from his father. “He always tells me he knows I’m a good pitcher. There are going to be good times and bad times. Just go through the bad times and whatever happens happens. Just do the best you can.”

ALSO

Mike Trout had two hits, two walks and a hit by pitch on Sunday, reaching base five times in a game for the 10th time in his career. …

Albert Pujols drove in the game-tying run and the go-ahead run, the latter with his 11th homer of the season, in the sixth inning. …

Upton returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game with a stiff back. …

Scioscia said there’s no set date for Shohei Ohtani to be re-evaluated. Although the Angels announced on June 8 that Ohtani would be checked in “three weeks,” Scioscia said that the timetable is more general. He said Ohtani still may be “another three weeks” from getting checked…

The Angels don’t yet have a starter scheduled for Tuesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The most likely candidate is probably Felix Peña. A reliever in spring training and early in the season, Peña has started nine games at Triple-A, gradually increasing his pitch count. In his last outing, he threw six innings on 84 pitches.

UP NEXT

Angels (Jaime Barría, 5-2, 2.61) vs. Diamondbacks (Zack Greinke, 5-5, 3.87), Monday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM).

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