OC Register: Angels’ Kole Calhoun hoping his days of hot and cold streaks are behind him

[AngelsWin.com]

CHICAGO — When Kole Calhoun reworked his swing last winter — an ill-fated experiment — he was seeking consistency.

Although it took him a couple months of frustration and a new swing to get there, he has finally found that consistency.

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The New Calhoun is coming up on three months’ worth of at-bats, during which he has maintained his performance at the plate without the kind of roller coaster he’d been on in previous years.

Since Calhoun returned, he’s only once gone three consecutive games without reaching base. He had come up empty in his first three trips on Sunday before knocking in the game’s only run with a single in the seventh.

“I think he’s been more than consistent; he’s been terrific,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “There’s consistent mediocrity and there’s consistent brilliance. This guy’s numbers are incredible, from the time he came back and started playing.”

Calhoun’s well-chronicled slow start amounted to a .145 average and a .374 OPS through May. While he was on the disabled list with a strained oblique, he cleared his mind and changed his swing.

Now with 293 plate appearances since returning, Calhoun has hit .277 with a .358 on-base percentage and a .542 slugging percentage, good for an OPS of .900.

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Calhoun said his new swing is not only better, but it’s easier to maintain because he has a firm grasp on exactly what he needs to do.

“I think I’ve got an idea what makes it good and what makes it bad,” he said. “Every day there is some kind of little adjustment that’s got to be made. It’s part of the game. It’s been good. Going forward, hopefully it’s something I stick with.”

The results have showed not just in how Calhoun is swinging, but also the pitches he’s not swinging at it. He is seeing the ball well enough now that he’s drawn a walk in eight straight games. Previously, the longest streak of his career was four games.

“There is no doubt Kole is seeing the ball better from where he was earlier in the season,” Scioscia said. “That whole process is going to lead to walks. He’s got a good eye. When he’s on, he’ll take a walk.”

Calhoun’s consistency over three months bodes well for the future, because it could be an indication that his new approach is more than a hot streak, but something sustainable.

“I think he’s put some major principals of hitting together that are fundamentally important,” Scioscia said. “He put them back into his swing. Sure, there are going to be adjustments along the way, but I think he has a better understanding of what he’s trying to do. He’s doing it better and all the boxes, like plate coverage and discipline, are starring to go in his favor.”

ALSO

When Mike Trout singled in the first inning, it ran his streak to 10 consecutive plate appearances reaching base safely. He struck out in his next trip. Trout’s career-best streak is 11 plate appearances, set last season. The Angels record is 12, set by Bobby Grich in 1982…

Shohei Ohtani, who bruised his right thigh on a home plate collision on Saturday, was in the lineup on Sunday and showed no issues. He hustled into second with a double in the eighth inning. He then tried to steal third, but was thrown out…

The Angels do not have a starter listed for Tuesday’s game, which means they will probably have another bullpen game. The Angels currently only have four starters who are stretched out enough to pitch five innings. They are likely to add Tyler Skaggs back into the mix sometime in the final three weeks of the season…

Andrelton Simmons was not in the lineup on Sunday, with a routine day off, Scioscia said. It left the Angels with an infield of Taylor Ward, David Fletcher, Kaleb Cowart and José Fernandez. All except Cowart made their major league debuts this season.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Jaime Barría, 10-8, 3.30) vs. Rangers (LHP Mike Minor, 11-7, 4.31), Monday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM).

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