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CLEVELAND — As it turns out, Nolan Schanuel began to answer the skeptics only after he stopped trying.
The Angels rookie first baseman made a splash in the majors last season, even though he’d been drafted less than two months before his big league debut. Critics, however, often pointed out that Schanuel hadn’t shown the power that a first baseman normally has.
Although Schanuel said publicly that he wasn’t worried about that, he now admits that he changed his approach at the start of the season.
“I was pulling off the ball, trying to hit homers,” Schanuel said this weekend. “A giraffe is not going to eat meat. You can’t take it out of its natural habitat. I need to stick to what I know and what I do best, and that’s singles up the middle, opposite field approach. And if they hang me one and I’m a little early, I get it. That’s the biggest difference from my first 40 at-bats to these last 40 at-bats.”
Schanuel hit .093 with a .422 OPS in his first 54 plate appearances. He hit one homer in the Angels fourth game, so that may have encouraged him to keep trying to pull the ball over the fence.
Schanuel said Angels hitting coaches Johnny Washington and Tim Laker implored him every day to get back to his normal approach, and a couple weeks ago he apparently got the message.
Over Schanuel’s last 57 plate appearances, since April 17, he’s hit .365 with a .911 OPS. He’s even hit two homers, but they have come because of what the pitcher gave him more than what he was trying to do.
“I kind of got ahead of myself earlier in the year trying to do something that I’m not used to doing,” Schanuel said.
Manager Ron Washington agreed Schanuel now has the proper mindset as he goes to the plate.
“It’s nice to see that he’s settled down,” Washington said. “I just hope he can keep it going through the rest of the year.”
Washington moved Schanuel back into the leadoff spot after Mike Trout was hurt. Schanuel showed his value in that spot by working Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee for an 11-pitch at-bat to start Friday’s game.
Although he ultimately grounded out, Schanuel was satisfied that he put the Angels on the way to what became a 6-0 victory. Schanuel had a homer, two singles and a walk in his remaining plate appearances.
“I wasn’t trying to see every pitch, but I was trying to let the guys behind me see what he’s got and that’s what I intend to do every first at-bat, see as many pitches as possible,” Schanuel said. “Even though it didn’t go my way, I still walked out of that at-bat with some pride. It definitely set up the rest of the team and definitely set me up for the rest of the game.”
WHAT ABOUT DRURY?
The Angels are still waiting to see the Brandon Drury who was a key run producer last season.
The infielder came into Sunday’s game hitting .169 with one homer and a .459 OPS. Last season he hit .262 with 26 homers and an .803 OPS.
“He’s not there and we certainly need him to get there,” Washington said. “So he’s got to keep working. We know it’s in him, but he’s the one that has to find it.”
Drury said he was just starting to find his swing when he hit an opposite field homer on April 14 in Boston, but since then he’s missed time with a hamstring injury and a neck injury.
“The past few issues that he’s had zapped his strength,” Washington said. “I’m not making excuses for him, because if you decide to go in that lineup, you’ve got to play. You can’t use excuses. If you’re going to use your health as an excuse, then you shouldn’t be in the lineup. It’s that simple. We’re not looking for bravo people. We’re looking for people that can play.”
NOTES
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who bruised his right hand when he was hit by a foul ball on Saturday, was available to play in an emergency on Sunday. O’Hoppe did some throwing and hitting before Sunday’s game. …
Infielder Luis Rengifo missed a second straight game because of an illness, but Rengifo said he was feeling better. Washington said he might be available to come off the bench.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-3, 2.23) at Pirates (RHP Mitch Keller, 2-3, 5.18) at PNC Park, 3:40 p.m. PT Monday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
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CLEVELAND — Reid Detmers’ season has suddenly turned in the wrong direction.
The Angels left-hander gave up seven runs in a 7-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, a second straight disappointing outing after beginning his season brilliantly.
Detmers had a 2.12 ERA after his first five starts, but he’s allowed 12 runs in the last two games to double his ERA, to 4.24.
The Angels also lost catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who came out of the game with a right hand contusion. He was hit in the hand by a foul ball in the bottom of the fourth. He remained in the game for one-bat, a strikeout.
O’Hoppe already had an X-ray that confirmed there was no fracture, but there was no immediate word on how much time he might miss.
It added up to a disappointing night for the Angels (12-21) on the heels of one of their most impressive victories of the season. The Angels haven’t won back-to-back games in a month.
Detmers gave up three runs in the first five innings on a pair of homers. In the second, he challenged No. 9 hitter Austin Hedges with a 1-and-0 fastball, and Hedges hit into the first row in left field. Two innings later, Detmers threw a first-pitch fastball to Ramon Laureano, who also hit it into the first row.
The game didn’t get away from Detmers until the sixth, when he issued three walks before hanging a curveball to Bo Naylor, who hit a grand slam.
Before the grand slam, the Angels were still trailing because their offense was quiet against right-hander Ben Lively, a 32-year-old journeyman who had a rather pedestrian career until getting off to a strong start this season.
The Angels had four hits in six innings against Lively.
The Angels failed to convert on Willie Calhoun’s leadoff double in the second, and didn’t get anything else going until a two-out rally in the fifth.
Three walks and a Zach Neto single produced one run, but Ehire Adrianza hit a fly ball to the warning track to leave the bases loaded.
More to come on this story.
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CLEVELAND — After he was released by a third team within a year, Amir Garrett was pitching in Triple-A with the Angels when he got some career-altering advice from an old friend.
Garrett, a 32-year-old left-hander who broke in the majors as Joey Votto’s teammate with the Cincinnati Reds, said Votto gave him the message he needed to hear last month.
“You’re too good not to be in the big leagues,” Votto told Garrett.
Votto went further and told Garrett that he needed to stop pitching defensively.
“Don’t be scared to get hit,” Votto told him. “Throw the ball over the plate like I’ve seen you at your best. The way you attack hitters, not a lot of damage is going to get done. Just trust your stuff.”
After an early outing for Salt Lake City in which he issued three walks, Garrett proceeded to issue just one walk in his next six innings, with seven strikeouts. He did not allow a run.
That earned Garrett a promotion to the Angels, and he has not allowed a run in his first three games in the majors. He has struck out five and walked two in 2 2/3 innings.
“Nothing is finished,” Garrett said. “It’s still a work in progress. I’m just going to keep that mindset that I had. And I’m going to go out and try to put zeroes as much as I can for this team.”
At his best, Garrett was a dominating reliever who threw in the high 90s and struck more than a batter per inning. As recently as last season, he had a 3.33 ERA with the Kansas City Royals, but he was released by the Royals last summer. The Cleveland Guardians signed him and released him without bringing him to the majors. He was in spring training with the San Francisco Giants, but released before opening day.
Garrett said his slider, which is his signature pitch, is never good in spring training, and the Giants didn’t have the patience to wait.
The Angels then gave him another chance.
“It’s been a long journey for me to get back here,” Garrett said. “I felt like I was I was in a good space (at Salt Lake). I felt like I was back to my old dominant self when I was in Cincinnati. And I feel that I’m even better than that right now. I think I’m in a good spot right now, in a really good spot.”
LOOKING BETTER
Left-hander José Suarez gave the Angels reason for hope when he pitched two scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, at the end of Friday’s 6-0 victory over the Guardians.
Suarez brought a 10.13 ERA into the game. The Angels hung with him because they believed they would lose him to another team if they put him on waivers.
Suarez said he adjusted his mechanics to make sure he’s moving straight toward the plate. He said he’d been moving side to side too much. His fastball velocity also ticked up slightly during Friday’s game.
“I felt great last night,” Suarez said. “That was my stuff. That’s how I want to be … Yesterday was 100%. I feel like I can fight right now.”
Manager Ron Washington said he was encouraged that Suarez showed some tangible improvements.
“I thought he had more oomph on his fastball,” Washington said. “The breaking balls that he threw, he put them in a good spot. Threw some good changeups. So he’s getting his feel back for his pitches. If he can continue to get the feel for his pitches, he could be a tremendous weapon for us.”
NOTES
Luis Rengifo was out of the lineup Saturday because he had been feeling sick, Washington said. …
Brandon Drury returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with headaches and a stiff neck, the result of a dive in Tuesday’s game.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 1-3, 7.45) at Guardians (RHP Carlos Carrasco, 1-2, 6.59) at Progressive Field, 10:40 a.m. PT Sunday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
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CLEVELAND — José Soriano demonstrated immediately that he had corrected what was going so horribly the last time he pitched.
One start after Soriano’s control was so bad he didn’t make it out of the second inning, he threw 14 of 17 first-inning pitches for strikes.
It was the encouraging beginning to six scoreless innings in the Angels’ 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night.
Soriano, a 25-year-old who was moved to the rotation this year because the Angels wanted to maximize the value of his electric stuff, put all the pieces together for the best of his five major league starts.
Soriano struck out three and walked one, allowing five hits. He needed just 88 pitches – including 60 strikes – to get through six innings.
Soriano now has a 3.77 ERA through 28⅔ innings.
The Angels (12-20) have started so badly that this season is quickly turning into one of assessing the talent for the future.
In that respect, Soriano and a few Angels hitters provided some reasons for hope on Friday night.
Rookie Nolan Schanuel, 22, put the Angels on the board with his third home run of the season. He also singled twice and walked. Schanuel started the season slowly, but he has hit .388 over his last 13 games.
Mickey Moniak, 25, belted a three-run homer to put the Angels up 5-0 in the fourth inning. Moniak, who also singled, started the season poorly at the plate, but Mike Trout’s injury has now put him in position for regular playing time.
Luis Rengifo also had two hits. Logan O’Hoppe drove in a run with a double. Willie Calhoun, who ended up in the cleanup spot because Manager Ron Washington didn’t think his young players were ready for that responsibility, had three hits.
The Angels scored all six runs against Cleveland right-hander Tanner Bibee, a Mission Viejo High and Cal State Fullerton product who brought a 3.45 ERA to the mound.
It was such a good night that they were able to overcome the kind of mental blunder that can be costly.
In the eighth inning, José Suarez got José Ramirez to hit a routine grounder that should have been an inning-ending double play. Shortstop Zach Neto tossed the ball to Rengifo, who stepped on the bag and then started jogging, thinking the inning was over. Suarez walked the next hitter, but then got out of the inning with a fly ball.
More to come on this story.
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CLEVELAND — Journeyman Willie Calhoun found himself hitting in the cleanup spot in his first game with the Angels on Friday.
“I took some names and put them in a hat and shook them up and he came out fourth,” Manager Ron Washington said.
After the assembled media chuckled, Washington added: “Seriously. You think I’m joking.”
Washington went on to explain that he actually wrote some names on pieces of paper and threw them on his bed. He also had Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe in the mix.
Those players have each shown some power in the major leagues and gotten off to solid starts this season, but Washington said he really didn’t want to give either of them the responsibility of hitting fourth.
“They’re too young,” Washington said. “I tried putting Adell in the top of the lineup and it lasted a day. I tried putting (Zach) Neto in the top of the lineup and it lasted two days. I’m not going to take O’Hoppe and put him in the fourth hole. I’ll hit him fifth or sixth, but for some reason when you put them in one of those spots, they think they’ve got to be special and they don’t. They really don’t. They’ve just got to be who they are. If you can give us base hits there, I’ll take it. You can give us doubles there, I’ll take it. I’m not looking for home runs because I don’t have that kind of team.”
Given all that, what if Washington had picked Adell or O’Hoppe off the bed?
“I’m glad I picked Calhoun, because if I would have picked up one of the kids, I would have changed my mind,” Washington said. “So it was meant to be.”
Calhoun, 29, was set to make his Angels debut after playing for the Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees. He was hitting .268 with a .706 OPS at Triple-A when he got the call. He was hitting .316 with a .792 OPS in his last 14 games.
“I started off a little slow but then started picking things up the last two-and-a-half weeks,” he said. “I found a little something with my swing, so I’m just going to continue to do that, and carry it here.”
As for batting cleanup, Calhoun said it doesn’t make a difference to him, which is exactly why Washington put him there.
“Where you hit in the lineup doesn’t matter,” Calhoun said. “I feel like you get pitched the same way if you hit first, fourth or ninth.”
Washington also moved Luis Rengifo in the No. 2 spot, because he apparently also has that attitude.
“He just goes and has his at-bat,” Washington said. “He’s not about trying to do anything special but what he does. I certainly hope he’s able to run with it.”
Rengifo came into the weekend hitting .326 with an .841 OPS.
WHAT ABOUT DRURY?
Infielder Brandon Drury, who also could have been a choice to hit cleanup, was not in the lineup for the second straight game because of neck and head issues. He’s officially listed as being out with a migraine, but Drury said that he’s felt some stiffness in his neck ever since a diving play on Tuesday.
Drury went through a full workout on Friday, and he could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday.
NOTES
Three-time American League MVP Mike Trout underwent a successful partial medial meniscectomy on Friday, according to the Angels’ medical report. The Angels would not provide any timeline, but a typical recover for that type of procedure would be four to six weeks. …
Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) was scheduled to extend his throwing to 90 feet on Friday. The Angels do not want to bring Silseth back as a reliever, so he will need to be up to at least 90 pitches during his rehab games. …
Infielder Michael Stefanic (quadriceps strain) was scheduled to face live pitching on Friday. Stefanic is on the 60-day injured list, so he’s not eligible until late May.
Infielder Miguel Sanó (left knee inflammation) could be back when the Angels return from this trip next Thursday, Washington said. “I hope so,” Washington said. “It just needed to quiet down.”
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-2, 3.12 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Ben Lively, 0-1, 2.30 ERA), Friday, 3:10 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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CLEVELAND — The door is open for Mickey Moniak.
When Mike Trout went down with a torn meniscus, Moniak became the Angels’ primary center fielder, at least against right-handed pitchers.
After struggling in limited playing time for much of the first month, Moniak is going to get an extended chance to show if he can repeat what he did last year.
“I just didn’t feel my best,” Moniak said, referring to the start of the season, “but over the last week, definitely feel like I’m back where I need to be and ready to go.”
When Moniak’s thoughts about his progress were relayed to Manager Ron Washington, he smiled.
“I personally hope what he told you starts to happen,” Washington said. “I want to see him turn the corner. Whatever his vision is, I want to see him meet that. But you’ve all been watching.”
Washington was suggesting that Moniak isn’t there yet.
He’s hitting .143 with a .400 OPS in 67 plate appearances. He has 21 strikeouts and four walks.
Moniak had a single late in Sunday’s blowout loss to snap his 0-for-21 skid, and he had an RBI single on Tuesday, his first start after Trout’s injury.
When Washington was asked what has to happen for Moniak to become productive, he had a simple answer.
“Make contact,” Washington said. “He’s not making contact. Use the whole field. Be Mickey. Not that Mickey that hit 14 home runs and thinks he’s a home run hitter. The Mickey who, when he got drafted, he was putting the ball all over the place. And then occasionally he’ll catch a home run.”
Moniak was drafted No. 1 overall in 2016, out of La Costa Canyon High in Carlsbad. He never found his major league footing with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he was traded to the Angels in July 2022.
Last season was the first time he got extended playing time in the majors, and he made it count. Moniak hit .280 with 14 home runs and an .802 OPS.
Amid that, he still struck out 113 times and walked nine times, a combination that raised a giant red flag about the sustainability of his success.
Moniak, 25, said he’s tried this season to be better with his swing decisions. It’s probably too early to read much into the numbers, but so far Moniak has cut his chase rate from 44% to 26%. The major league average is 22%.
“I feel like right now I’m swinging at the pitches I should be swinging at,” Moniak said. “I’m just missing them. That’s on me to figure out.”
Moniak said he is once again focused on hitting the ball the way he did before.
“Just trying to hit line drives over the shortstop, up the middle, stuff I’ve done my whole life,” he said. “It’s gotten me where I am.”
Moniak hit two fly balls to left field on Wednesday, which he said is a good sign. Once he starts barreling more of those, they will be hits instead of outs.
The prospect of regular playing time means Moniak will get plenty of opportunity to find himself.
“Right now the focus is to get the timing back,” Moniak said. “The more at-bats I get, the more I can get back to doing what I do best. … The results aren’t there yet, but it’s a long season. We’ll take it month by month and revisit it in October.”
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-4, 4.76 ERA) at Guardians (RHP Tanner Bibbee, 2-0, 3.45 ERA), Friday, 4:10 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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ANAHEIM — Just when the Angels found enough pitching to slow down the Philadelphia Phillies’ dangerous lineup, they couldn’t find a big hit.
The Angels wasted a solid performance on the mound in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon.
Starter Patrick Sandoval gave up both runs on a second-inning single, but then he didn’t give up anything else through five innings. Four Angels relievers then shut out the Phillies.
The Angels had opportunities to do damage against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, but could only manage an Ehire Adrianza solo homer in the second inning.
The Angels had multiple baserunners against Wheeler in the first and third innings, and they had a leadoff double in the fifth. They couldn’t push home any runs in those spots. Matt Thaiss struck out to end the first and third and Luis Rengifo hit a 101-mph lineout to end the fifth.
In the eighth, the Angels had three singles but didn’t score. Taylor Ward was caught trying to steal second base after his leadoff hit. Logan O’Hoppe hit a 111-mph lineout to left field for the second out of the inning.
In the ninth, Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel singled, putting the tying run at third with one out. Jo Adell then struck out and Taylor Ward hit a flyout to the warning track in left, ending the game.
The Angels finished 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
With the loss, the Angels (11-20) came up short in their bid to win a series for the first time in a month.
They could at least take some solace in the performance of Sandoval, who struck out 10.
He was shaky in the first two innings, including a two-out walk to No. 9 hitter Cristian Pache just before Kyle Schwarber’s bases-loaded single.
After that, he gave up just one single in the final three innings.
Sandoval threw 36 sliders and 27 changeups among his 102 pitches, the second straight start in which he largely shelved his two fastballs. He threw 14 first-pitch strikes in the 21 batters he faced, a significant improvement from his previous outings.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — At around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Kevin Pillar was an unemployed baseball player, sitting at home in Arizona, playing with his son.
Then his phone rang, and within five hours he was in the clubhouse at Angel Stadium, with a spot on the Angels roster.
“It’s kind of a crazy day, but exciting,” Pillar said Wednesday, before he started in left field for the Angels.
Pillar, a 35-year-old who is in his 12th big-league season, was released over the weekend by the Chicago White Sox. He had been at home waiting for an opportunity when Mike Trout’s torn meniscus provided one.
Pillar is a fit for the Angels because he’s a good defensive outfielder who can play all three positions, and he’s also better against left-handed pitchers. Mickey Moniak, who is expected to get most of the starts in center in Trout’s absence, has historically struggled against lefties.
Last season, Pillar had a .734 OPS against lefties. This season, he had an .854 OPS in his first 16 plate appearances against lefties.
Angels manager Ron Washington, who was with Pillar with the Atlanta Braves last season, fully endorsed him for his professionalism and makeup. Washington said he’ll start primarily against lefties, but he was in the lineup against Philadelphia Phillies ace right-hander Zack Wheeler on Wednesday because Washington wanted to give Taylor Ward a day at designated hitter.
Pillar, a product of Chaminade High and Cal State Dominguez Hills, said he appreciated the chance to play in Southern California.
Also, for as much as the Angels have struggled in the first month, it still felt to Pillar like an upgrade from the White Sox.
“Obviously, that organization’s at a little different point than where this organization is at,” Pillar said. “Coming into a place that is excited to win and expected to win. It’s always a place that I want to be. It’s hard being in a place where the priority is not winning, necessarily. It’s kind of development you know, trying to get the organization back on track.
“You put a lot of pressure on yourself to go out, perform every day. But coming into a place where winning is the most important, that’s what you put your value on.”
MORE MOVES
The Angels placed Miguel Sanó on the injured list Wednesday because of left knee inflammation.
Sanó began dealing with the issue last week, and the Angels hoped it would improve sufficiently with just a few days off.
He was placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday. He would be eligible to return May 8, the final day of the series next week in Pittsburgh.
The Angels brought up veteran outfielder Willie Calhoun to replace Sanó on the active roster. Calhoun, 29, was hitting .268 with a .706 OPS at Triple-A. Calhoun has played parts of seven seasons in the majors with four teams. He had a .712 OPS with the New York Yankees last season.
In order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Calhoun, the Angels designated right-hander Zac Kristofak for assignment. If no one claims Kristofak on waivers, the Angels will be able to keep him in the organization.
SILVER LINING
A day after the Angels rallied from a three-run deficit before blowing a two-run lead in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington said there were more positives to take from that game than the negative of the loss.
He said it was another positive step, along with Monday’s come-from-behind victory.
“I think the past two days is the type of baseball that we expect ourselves to play,” Washington said before Wednesday’s game. “The results at the end of nine innings are the results. But it’s how you win and how you lose. If we’ve got to lose ballgames playing like that every night, I’m in. Hopefully that we can get to a point where we can sustain and be consistent in how we play. And if we do that, I’ll take whatever happens.”
NOTES
Brandon Drury was a late scratch from the lineup because of a migraine, the Angels announced. …
The Angels will face Mission Viejo High product Tanner Bibbee on Friday in Cleveland. Bibbee was a high school teammate of Patrick Sandoval, and the two pitched against each other last year in Cleveland.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-4, 4.76) at Guardians (RHP Tanner Bibbee, 2-0, 3.45) at Progressive Field, 4:10 p.m. PT Friday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
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ANAHEIM — The Angels received a pair of gut punches on Tuesday.
One came in the afternoon, when they learned they would be without injured Mike Trout for an extended period of time. The second was hours later, when they coughed up a late two-run lead in a 7-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Angels rallied from an early three-run deficit to take a two-run lead in the sixth, but the good feelings were short-lived. They gave up one run in the eighth and then Carlos Estevez yielded three in the ninth.
Estévez gave up a game-tying homer to Nick Castellanos, then a double to Bryson Stott and then a two-run homer to No. 9 hitter Johan Rojas.
It was the second blown save of the season for Estévez, and it spoiled what was shaping up to be an encouraging response to the loss of Trout.
Earlier in the day, the Angels learned that Trout needs surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Although they are expecting to get Trout back at some point this season, there is no timetable.
In the meantime, the Angels rolled out a lineup with Jo Adell, Taylor Ward, Brandon Drury and Luis Rengifo in the second through fifth spots on Tuesday night.
They were down 3-0 in the second inning, when Zach Neto put the Angels on the board with a homer to right center.
After that, the Angels didn’t threaten until the sixth inning. Ward reached on a out-out infield single. Drury then hit a bouncer directly to shortstop Trea Turner. Instead of a routine, inning-ending double play, Turner bobbled it and couldn’t make a play anywhere.
Rengifo hammered the very next pitch over the right field fence for a three-run homer, putting the Angels ahead, 4-3.
An out later, Cole Tucker doubled. He scored on a single from Mickey Moniak, who is now going to get most of the action in center field replacing Trout.
The Angels then had nine outs to get to secure the victory, and they couldn’t do it. Right-hander Luis Garcia worked a perfect seventh. Left-hander Matt Moore, who was pitching for the third day in a row, gave up a run in the eighth, recording two outs.
Manager Ron Washington then brought in Estévez, looking for four outs.
Estévez couldn’t lock up the victory for Tyler Anderson, who gave up three runs in six innings, all of them coming on one swing of Kyle Schwarber’s bat in the second inning.
Anderson gave up a one-out single to Nick Castellanos and then he walked Bryson Stott. An out later, he threw Schwarber a 2-and-1 fastball over the outer half of the plate and Schwarber launched it into the left field seats.
After that, though, Anderson locked down for the rest of his outing. He faced just one over the minimum over the next four innings, including five strikeouts.
Anderson has a 2.23 ERA through six starts, a significant improvement from last year’s 5.43 mark.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — Angels star Mike Trout will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, sidelining the three-time American League MVP indefinitely.
The Angels believe Trout will be able to return this season, General Manager Perry Minasian said while announcing the injury Tuesday.
Trout is batting .220 with a major league-leading 10 home runs, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases this year, but he will be sidelined by a major injury for the fourth consecutive season.
“It’s just frustrating, but we’ll get through it.
Trout had an MRI after playing in the Angels’ 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. The outfielder fought back tears while describing the pain that gradually crept up on him after the game, in which he even stole a base.
“It’s crazy, because I look back and I don’t even know when I did it,” Trout said. “It’s just frustrating, but we’ll get through it.”
Trout’s latest injury is another major blow to the Angels, who are off to an 11-18 start in their first season since Shohei Ohtani’s free-agent departure. They also have lost $245 million third baseman Anthony Rendon indefinitely to a torn hamstring.
The 32-year-old Trout won his three MVP awards during a dominant decade of play in the 2010s, but the formerly durable outfielder has been bedeviled by injuries since 2021.
He missed all but 36 games of the 2021 season with a strained calf, and he missed several weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury. Trout then broke a bone in his hand last season, missing all but one game after July 3.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — A game that began in disturbingly familiar fashion ended with a much needed change for the Angels.
After trailing by three runs before they took their first at-bat of the night, the Angels rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
The Angels had lost nine of their previous 10 games and four in a row, without holding a single lead in any of the four straight losses.
They snapped their 42-inning lead-less streak in the seventh inning on Monday, when they broke a tie by scoring two runs on a wild pitch.
An inning earlier, they had tied the score on Logan O’Hoppe’s RBI groundout and a single by Cole Tucker, who was playing his first game with the Angels.
The Angels also got a boost from Jo Adell, who hit a first-inning homer in his debut in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Relievers Matt Moore and Carlos Estévez held the lead over the final two innings. Estévez gave up a run but then struck out former Angel Brandon Marsh to end it, stranding the tying run at second.
The victory provided some relief for a team desperate to show it isn’t as bad as it has looked recently.
“I just hope that fans don’t give up on us, because they don’t need to be front-runners,” Manager Ron Washington said before the game. “We’re gonna put some quality baseball together here before it’s over with. And once we start putting that quality baseball together, they’re going to want to come to the ballpark.”
Washington acknowledged that the Angels have not been playing up to expectations. Even though no one outside the organization expected them to be contenders, Washington believed they would play better than they have.
“I know we may not have the best personnel in the world, but we can play better baseball,” Washington said. “And that’s all we want, to play better baseball. The rest of it will take care of itself.”
Washington held a meeting after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Minnesota Twins, and it didn’t look like it made a difference the way Monday’s game started.
Right-hander Griffin Canning gave up three runs in the first, including a hit batter and a walk. The Angels have allowed 28 first-inning runs in 29 games, the third most in baseball.
Canning walked five in his five-inning outing, allowing four runs.
The fourth run scored in the fifth inning, on a gift from the Angels.
With runners at the corners and Bryce Harper at the plate, Canning threw over twice to try to pick off the speedy Trea Turner at first base.
On the 3-and-2 pitch – one on which Turner certainly might have been running – Canning made a third pickoff throw. Under the pitch timer rules instituted last year, a third disengagement from the rubber during one plate appearance is a balk unless the runner is picked off. Turner was safe and then Kyle Schwarber trotted home with a run to put the Phillies ahead, 4-2.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — A game that began in disturbingly familiar fashion ended with a much needed change for the Angels.
After trailing by three runs before they took their first at-bat of the night, the Angels rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
The Angels had lost nine of their previous 10 games and four in a row, without holding a single lead in any of the four straight losses.
They snapped their 42-inning lead-less streak in the seventh inning on Monday, when they broke a tie by scoring two runs on a wild pitch.
An inning earlier, they had tied the score on Logan O’Hoppe’s RBI groundout and a single by Cole Tucker, who was playing his first game with the Angels.
The Angels also got a boost from Jo Adell, who hit a first-inning homer in his debut in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Relievers Matt Moore and Carlos Estévez held the lead over the final two innings. Estévez gave up a run but then struck out former Angel Brandon Marsh to end it, stranding the tying run at second.
The victory provided some relief for a team desperate to show it isn’t as bad as it has looked recently.
“I just hope that fans don’t give up on us, because they don’t need to be front-runners,” Manager Ron Washington said before the game. “We’re gonna put some quality baseball together here before it’s over with. And once we start putting that quality baseball together, they’re going to want to come to the ballpark.”
Washington acknowledged that the Angels have not been playing up to expectations. Even though no one outside the organization expected them to be contenders, Washington believed they would play better than they have.
“I know we may not have the best personnel in the world, but we can play better baseball,” Washington said. “And that’s all we want, to play better baseball. The rest of it will take care of itself.”
Washington held a meeting after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Minnesota Twins, and it didn’t look like it made a difference the way Monday’s game started.
Right-hander Griffin Canning gave up three runs in the first, including a hit batter and a walk. The Angels have allowed 28 first-inning runs in 29 games, the third most in baseball.
Canning walked five in his five-inning outing, allowing four runs.
The fourth run scored in the fifth inning, on a gift from the Angels.
With runners at the corners and Bryce Harper at the plate, Canning threw over twice to try to pick off the speedy Trea Turner at first base.
On the 3-and-2 pitch – one on which Turner certainly might have been running – Canning made a third pickoff throw. Under the pitch timer rules instituted last year, a third disengagement from the rubber during one plate appearance is a balk unless the runner is picked off. Turner was safe and then Kyle Schwarber trotted home with a run to put the Phillies ahead, 4-2.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — Monday marked a milestone of sorts in the Angels’ season.
For the first time this season, the Angels made a roster move that reflected performance, rather than being forced by an injury.
The Angels designated Aaron Hicks for assignment, replacing the veteran outfielder him with utility man Cole Tucker. Hicks was 8 for 57 (.140) and had not played much since Jo Adell took over as the everyday right fielder.
“We just thought we needed to start making some changes,” Manager Ron Washington said. “I love Aaron Hicks and appreciate what he did for the time he was here, but the only thing I can say about that is it was time to move on.”
Washington also suggested that the other players should understand that poor performances won’t be tolerated.
“We’re not trying to give a message to anyone that if you don’t do this, and if you don’t do that, you won’t be here,” Washington said. “But if they don’t do this, and they don’t do that, then they won’t be here.”
Tucker, 27, is back in the majors, after spending parts of the previous four years in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. He was with the Seattle Mariners in spring training, but he asked for his release when they said they didn’t have a spot for him.
Tucker said the Mariners first asked him if he’d be interested in coaching.
“A little premature, but really flattered by it,” Tucker said. “I feel like there’s more for me as a player.”
Tucker was at home for a couple of weeks waiting for a job, and then he signed a minor-league deal with the Angels. He began playing at Triple-A Salt Lake on April 16. He was hitting .313 with a .908 OPS with Salt Lake.
Tucker is a switch hitter who can play every position on the field besides catcher.
Washington said the Angels could use Tucker’s “versatility,” especially while they are playing without infielder Miguel Sanó.
Sanó is out with a sore left knee. He was able to take batting practice on Monday, but Washington said he’s not ready to “push him out there right now.” Sanó is available to pinch-hit, Washington said.
ANOTHER LINEUP SHUFFLE
When Zach Neto got hot last week, Washington moved him from the No. 9 spot to the No. 2 spot. Neto then went hitless in eight at-bats, so Washington put him back at the bottom of the lineup, instead moving Jo Adell up to No. 2.
Washington said Neto seemed to be “trying to do too much” after he was moved up, so Washington implored Adell not to do the same.
“I’m hoping that by moving him up to second, that he doesn’t change anything in the way he’s swinging the bat,” Washington said.
Adell was hitting .327 with a .974 OPS heading into Monday’s game.
“I’m searching for how I can put something together where we can score some runs,” Washington said. “It might backfire, but I gotta try something.”
NOTES
The Angels optioned right-hander Zac Kristofak and recalled right-hander Davis Daniel to provide more coverage for the bullpen. Kristofak pitched two innings in his major league debut on Sunday. …
Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) played catch for the third time in the last four days. …
Right-hander Guillo Zuñiga (pectoral strain) has increased his long toss out to 105 feet. …
Right-hander Sam Bachman (shoulder surgery) resumed throwing after a brief shutdown because of back spasms. Bachman had been expected to begin a rehab assignment around the start of May, but that will obviously be delayed now. …
Infielder Michael Stefanic (quadriceps strain) has been running and taking ground balls in Arizona. There is no timetable for Stefanic’s return.
UP NEXT
Phillies (RHP Spence Turnbull, 2-0, 1.33 ERA) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-3, 1.78 ERA), Tuesday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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ANAHEIM — Reid Detmers had been the Angels’ best starting pitcher all season and Luis Garcia had been their best reliever over the past few weeks.
Both had a chance to help the Angels stop their slide on Sunday, and both endured miserable outings.
The Angels lost to the Minnesota Twins, 11-5, falling for the ninth time in the past 10 games. The Angels, who gave up 16 runs on Saturday, are 10-18
Detmers, who carried a 2.12 ERA to the mound, was charged with five runs in five-plus innings, all of them scoring after he started the game with three perfect innings.
The Angels briefly threatened to overcome Detmers’ performance and end their losing streak, striking for four quick runs to get back within 5-4, but then Garcia let it get away.
Garcia entered in the seventh with the Angels down by a run. He had not allowed a run in his previous nine games, and he’d gone 32 consecutive batters without issuing a walk.
Garcia walked two of the first three hitters of the inning, sandwiched around a bloop single. Garcia then gave up a two-run double to Alex Kiriloff. Two more runs scored before Garcia was pulled with the Angels down 9-4.
The Twins tacked on two unearned runs against Zac Kristofak in his major league debut.
The first batter that Kristofak faced reached on an error by second baseman Brandon Drury. It was one of three errors the Angels made on an ugly afternoon.
A pitchers’ duel between Detmers and Twins righty Pablo López disintegrated quickly.
Neither pitcher allowed a single baserunner through the first three innings, but Detmers cracked in the fourth, allowing a run on three hits. In the fifth, he gave up four more runs after allowing the first four batters of the inning to get hits.
Down 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Angels finally got their first baserunner when Logan O’Hoppe doubled down the left field line.
Within the next 13 pitches, the Angels scored four runs. Jo Adell ripped a line drive off the glove of third baseman José Miranda, stretching it into a double as the ball trickled into left field.
Luis Rengifo then hit a first-pitch two-run homer, and Nolan Schanuel followed by yanking a homer just inside the right field pole.
The Angels went down in the order in the sixth, and by the time they came up in the seventh, they were down by five again.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — Zac Kristofak said he held up the security line at the Austin, Texas, airport because his brother finally called him back. It was an unforgettable call, even though few words were spoken.
“A lot of silence, but we got the message across,” Kristofak said on Sunday morning, after a three-hour flight and a trip from LAX to Angel Stadium.
The right-hander had been called up the majors for the first time, a happy chapter to a story of tragedy that he and his brother had endured.
Zac and Harrison Kristofak’s mother had been murdered by their father at their home in Georgia in 2012, when Zac was 15. Although it had been reported in Atlanta, Kristofak first went public with the ordeal in a profile published last September by The Athletic.
Since then, supporters have been waiting for the day when Kristofak would reach the majors.
That day came on Sunday. Kristofak was set to be the starter on Sunday at Triple-A, so he was best positioned to provide the Angels bullpen with the coverage it needed after a blowout loss on Saturday.
As Kristofak, 26, stood in the Angels clubhouse surrounded by reporters, he said he hoped that his story could be an inspiration for others who had gone through tragedies or hardships.
“That’s 100% the purpose of it,” he said. “I’m here to help people. I’m here to help people 100%. Baseball is my platform. That’s cool. I get to put on this uniform today. But, man, if I can help somebody, that’s a big part.”
Kristofak said he was about to go to sleep on Saturday night in Round Rock, Texas, where Salt Lake was playing. He was preparing for his Sunday start when he got a call from his manager letting him know that he was headed to the majors.
Kristofak called his brother, who didn’t reply until hours later, when he was at the airport.
How long Kristofak stays in the majors remains to be seen. The Angels needed some immediate help after relievers worked 6-1/3 innings on Saturday, not including one inning from outfielder Aaron hicks.
Kristofak had a 3.38 ERA in 18-2/3 innings at Triple-A.
“The little bit I saw of him in spring training, he’s a strike thrower,” manager Ron Washington said. “I hope coming to the major leagues he doesn’t change.”
THE OTHER MOVE
The Angels had room on the roster for Kristofak because they placed right-hander José Cisnero on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Washington said Cisenero’s injury is not serious.
“He had some problems in there and we just thought we needed to shut it down,” Washington said. “I don’t think it’s anything that any operations need to happen.”
Many frustrated Angels fans certainly would have been OK with the team designating José Suarez for assignment. The left-hander has a 10.13 ERA in 16 innings.
Washington said it’s too early to give up on Suarez.
“This isn’t anything that you go through and then you get buried for it, especially when you have shown what you are capable of doing,” Washington said. “You just can’t give up on people. You’ve got to give them a chance to go through struggles and see how they handle struggle and see how they recover from struggle. And that’s where we are. We’re letting him handle it, and now we’re going to find out how he recovers. And after we go through all the steps that it takes, we’ll make a decision if we need to make a decision.”
Suarez’s performance has raised two questions. The first is whether he would actually be claimed if he were placed on waivers. The second is whether the Angels should even be mind if they lost him.
As for the first, a quick poll of four officials from other teams — two executives and two scouts — was split evenly on whether Suarez would be claimed. Three of them represented teams that are currently rebuilding. One said he would take a chance on Suarez for his team.
Without removing anyone on the major league team from the 40-man roster to clear a spot for Kristofak, the Angels instead designated right-hander Jimmy Herget for assignment. Herget had a 4.66 ERA at Triple-A.
NOTES
Miguel Sanó (left knee inflammation) remains on the active roster, but Washington said the Angels were hoping to “stay away from him for a couple more days” to allow his knee to improve. …
When the Angels face left-hander Christopher Sanchez on Monday, it will be just the fourth time in 29 games that they face a left-handed starter. …
The Philadelphia Phillies will be visiting Angel Stadium for the first time since 2017.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 1-3, 7.50) vs. Phillies (LHP Christopher Sanchez, 1-3, 2.96) at Angel Stadium, 6:38 p.m. PT Monday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
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ANAHEIM — José Soriano gave plenty of reason for optimism about his potential as a major league starter in his previous outing, but he provided reason for caution in this one.
Soriano was clearly out of sorts from the moment he took the mound in the Angels’ 16-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.
He walked three and hit two on his way to allowing four runs, recording just five outs.
The early deficit left the Angels to turn to a couple of their struggling relievers, just to get through some innings, and the deficit only grew. José Suarez gave up three runs in 1⅓ innings and then José Cisnero allowed three runs, while getting only two outs. Carlos Fulmer then got them 10 outs, but he eventually gave up four runs.
Outfielder Aaron Hicks pitched the ninth inning, allowing two more runs.
It added up to the Angels’ third straight loss, and their eighth in the last nine games. The Angels (10-17) have not finished an inning with a lead in any of those eight losses.
Although the starters have mostly kept them in games, they haven’t been able to outmatch the slow starting offense. In this game the offense couldn’t keep up with the poor pitching.
Soriano, 25, took the mound with the promise of a 101 mph fastball and on the heels of a start in which he didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning and then gave up three unearned runs.
He brought a 3.43 ERA to the mound on Saturday.
His control was missing from the outset. Soriano walked Alex Kirilloff, the first hitter of the game, on six pitches. He then fell behind Edouard Julien, 3-and-0, before allowing a single. Soriano then hit Ryan Jeffers with a pitch, loading the bases.
Although Soriano managed to escape with just one run scoring, he came out in the second and continued struggling. He hit a batter, walked a batter and gave up two hits.
Things got even uglier after he left, because Suarez continued his nightmarish start to the season.
Suarez allowed the first five batters he faced to get hits. He managed an out because the Angels threw out a runner at third to end the second inning.
Including an awful outing on Wednesday, Suarez allowed 11 out of 12 hitters to reach base.
Suarez now has a 10.13 ERA in 16 innings over nine games. He is out of options, so the Angels can’t send him to Triple-A. They believe that he’d be claimed if they placed him on waivers because he’s 26, left-handed and showed something when posting a 3.86 ERA over 207⅓ major league innings in 2021 and 2022.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — As Zach Neto continues to learn what it takes to be successful in the majors, he’s taken a lesson from track and field.
“Track stars don’t run at 100%,” the Angels shortstop said on Saturday. “They tend not to run their fastest or tense up. When they run at 85%, they are nice and loose, their minds working, and they’re the fastest they can be. That’s what I’m trying to be. I’m trying to be loose up there and just let my instincts and talents play.”
Lately it’s been working.
After a slow start to his season, Neto had eight hits in 13 at-bats on the first four games of the current homestand. That included four doubles and his first home run of the season.
He’s been good enough that Manager Ron Washington put him in the No. 2 spot for Saturday’s game, after he had hit ninth in his first 24 starts of the season.
“The hope is that moving him up in order can help spark our offense,” Washington said. “You never know. He might spark the offense then for 30 at-bats, go in the tank again and then I gotta make another move. But the fact that he’s swinging the bat, I want to try to take advantage of it.”
Neto said he hasn’t made any major mechanical changes. It’s more about his feeling and mindset at the plate.
Beyond the “85% theory,” Neto said he changed his walk-up music to a salsa tune because he wants to go up to the plate with “that dancing mentality. It’s helped me out and kept me loose.”
Neto said he’s also watched some video from his college days – only two years ago, by the way – and that helped restore some confidence.
“We were joking ‘Man, where the heck is this guy at?’” Neto said.
Neto also said that he’s worked to improve his plate discipline.
“I’ve just been smarter at the plate,” he said. “Swinging at strikes usually helps. I’ve just been doing that, and some good outcomes have come.”
Neto, 23, has been in the majors for just over a year, with a couple of injuries cutting into his playing time. He came into Saturday’s game with 421 major league plate appearances and 109 games under his belt.
He posted a .685 OPS in 2023, and his recent hot streak lifted him to .646 through the first month of 2024.
Although the offense has been inconsistent, his defense has been very good, besides a couple misplays in the first week.
“That’s the biggest thing, and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of maturing myself to whatever happens at the plate, just kind of leaving it in the dugout,” Neto said. “If I can’t help the team in the box, might as well help the team on the field.”
SANO GETS CHECKED
Miguel Sanó went to have his sore left knee checked on Saturday afternoon, and the Angels had no update yet on what the results were.
Sanó has been bothered by the knee issue for several days, and Washington said it’s been a factor in his recent struggles at the plate. Sanó struck out seven times and walked once in eight plate appearances in the previous three games.
Sanó came out of Wednesday afternoon’s game because of the knee, but then reported on Friday feeling better. He started the game, but his knee “flared up again,” after two at-bats, Washington said, and he was pulled.
CLEAN IT UP
The Angels had Mike Trout and Jo Adell out early working on routes in the outfield after the miscommunication that led to a dropped ball and a run on Friday night.
Washington said Adell made the mistake by not taking a route that would keep him from running into Trout.
“You’re supposed to know right away where that person you’re running toward is when you take off,” Washington said. “You don’t find him when you arrive. That’s just experience.”
Trout was calling for the ball, but Adell was too close to him as Trout was ready to make the catch.
“We’ve got a young kid out there that’s full of vinegar,” Washington said. “Everything that goes up, he thinks he can get. That’s just something he’s got to learn.”
Washington said the other significant misplay of Friday’s game was because first baseman Nolan Schanuel did not call off catcher Logan O’Hoppe on a pop-up between the two players. Schanuel was coming in and O’Hoppe was going back, so it was Schanuel’s ball. O’Hoppe ended up dropping it.
“We’ve been making some unforced mistakes and good teams don’t do that,” Washington said. “And were trying to become a good team.”
Washington said to this point he’s been satisfied that the Angels’ young players have learned from their mistakes enough to not repeat them. He pointed out that they’ve already seen significant improvement in infielder Luis Rengifo’s defense after they worked to clean up the mistakes from the last trip.
UP NEXT
Twins (RHP Pablo López, 1-2, 4.39 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-1, 2.12 ERA), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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ANAHEIM — Angels manager Ron Washington talks often about how the team is still “learning how to win.”
It’s not like this.
The Angels made a handful of critical mistakes that proved to be just enough to cost them in a 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
The Angels (10-16) have now lost seven of their last eight games.
At the plate, they didn’t even manage a hit against Bailey Ober until the sixth inning, when they were already down by four runs. They had opportunities in the sixth and eighth innings, but only Nolan Schanuel managed to drive in any runs, with a groundout and a single.
Mike Trout, who is now 2 for 22 with runners in scoring position this season, struck out on a check swing when he was up with two on in the sixth. He walked on four pitches when he came up in the eighth, with first base open. He grounded out in the ninth to end it, when he was representing the winning run.
After Trout’s walk in the eighth, both Taylor Ward and Ehire Adrianza – who replaced Miguel Sanó, presumably after his sore knee acted up – were called out looking at third strikes.
The Angels also made defensive mistakes on Friday. There appeared to be a miscommunication between Trout and right fielder Jo Adell in the sixth, allowing a ball to drop and leading to a run.
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe dropped a pop-up, but the Angels erased that mistake by turning their third double play of the game. O’Hoppe also had a passed ball.
Left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who is often the victim of poor defense by his teammates, made his own errant pickoff throw in the third inning, leading to an unearned run.
Sandoval was charged with four runs, three earned, in 5⅔ innings. Although he avoided big innings and kept the Angels in the game, it was not a clean outing.
Sandoval fell behind with a first-pitch ball to 13 of the 24 of the hitters, with contributed to him allowing nine hits.
Sandoval gave up a second-inning homer to Carlos Santana, and then solid two-out RBI singles Byron Buxton in the third and Ryan Jeffers in the fifth. Both came on hanging sliders.
The sixth-inning run, which extended the Twins’ lead to 4-0, scored after José Miranda’s fly ball into right-center turned into a double. Trout seemed to be calling for the ball, but as the two got closer Trout pulled back, and the ball then hit Adell in the leg and dropped.
Normally reliable left-hander Matt Moore gave up a run in the ninth, just after the Angels had cut the lead to two, after he issued two walks.
One of the bright spots was the play of shortstop Zach Neto, who made some nice defensive plays and also had two doubles among his three hits. Neto has eight hits in his last 13 at-bats, with three doubles and a homer.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — Anthony Rendon’s hamstring injury is not just some tightness that will resolve in a matter of weeks.
The Angels’ oft-injured third baseman has a high grade partial tear of his left hamstring. The Angels had not provided detail on the severity of the injury until Friday because Rendon had sought further opinions after the initial diagnosis.
Although the Angels won’t give a timetable, it’s going to be a matter of months. The team is still hoping that he’ll come back this season, but given Rendon’s history nothing is certain.
“I have no idea how long because hamstrings are tricky,” General Manager Perry Minasian said. “It’s unfortunate, because he was starting to swing the bat well, but that’s why we have the depth we have. Guys like (Miguel) Sanó, (Luis) Rengifo and (Brandon) Drury will have to step up.”
Rendon, who is in the fifth year of a seven-year, $245 million deal, has been injured more often than not so far with the Angels. Rendon, 33, missed more than half of the previous three seasons.
“It’s four years now,” Rendon said. I was angry for a few days, frustrated. Anything that you can possibly imagine. The game keeps getting taken away from me. I want to win. I want to be out there. It’s frustrating. I don’t know what else to try. You try to control as much as possible. I try to do everything in my power to stay out there, and it seems like nothing’s working.”
In 2021, Rendon was initially out with what was described as a hamstring injury, but his season was ended because of hip surgery. He had wrist surgery in 2022. He fractured his leg in 2023. He played 148 of a possible 486 games (30.5%) in those seasons.
While Rendon is rehabbing this injury, he is planning to offer as much help as possible to his younger teammates.
“I think that’s what I’ve been figuring out over the last few years since I’ve been in this position more often than I would like,” Rendon said. “How am I gonna be able to impact the guys off the field, right? How can I talk to them, when I’m down in the dugout? Or how do I talk to them after the game, after they’ve had a good day after they had a bad day? How can I share my wisdom and what I’ve been through so kind of give as much wisdom as I can while I’m here?”
SILSETH UPDATE
Right-hander Chase Silseth, who is out with elbow inflammation, resumed throwing on Friday, with about 10 light throws.
It’s just the first step in the process, and Silseth has no idea how long it will take.
“I’m just trying to take it day by day,” Silseth said. “Whenever a new obstacle comes my way, and they tell me what I need to do, I’m just gonna do it. I have no idea how all this stuff (goes). It was my first time through it. Learning as we go but hopefully not on here too much.”
SUAREZ’S STATUS
The Angels have decided to keep working with left-hander José Suarez to help him rediscover himself. Although Suarez has a 9.20 ERA through his first five games, the Angels haven’t given serious consideration to designating him for assignment at this point. They believe he would be claimed, and it’s too early to give up on him.
“We’re just trying to settle him down,” Manager Ron Washington said. “Make him understand that he can throw the ball across the plate. You don’t have to be out there pitching for chase. And it looked like the majority of the time he came on the mound when he wasn’t successful, he was pitching for chase, and he doesn’t have to pitch for chase.
“He can command a baseball. He just hasn’t been doing it. So we’re trying to get him back to commanding the baseball. And once you start commanding the baseball, I think the rest of it will fall into place.”
The Angels need Suarez to be better because he’s one of only two lefties in the bullpen, and the other one – Matt Moore – is not a traditional lefty who is more effective against left-handed hitters.
One alternative at some point could be Amir Garrett, a veteran the Angels signed on a minor league deal. Garrett has allowed two runs in 6⅓ innings so far at Triple-A, and he’s been throwing his fastball in the upper 90s. The issue is that he’s has only retired three of the six lefties he’s faced, so the Angels would like to see him improve that before they bring him to the majors.
NOTES
Infielder Brandon Drury, who was out of the lineup for six of the previous nine games because of hamstring tightness, was the DH on Friday night. Washington said Drury could return to the field on Saturday if he comes through Friday’s game strong. …
Infielder Miguel Sanó returned to the lineup after coming out of Wednesday’s game with knee soreness. Washington said Sanó’s knee still could act up after he plays three or four games in a row. Washington said it hurts him more when his knee twists as he’s hitting than it does when he’s playing defense or running. …
Right-hander Andrew Wantz was diagnosed with right elbow inflammation while at Triple-A. He has resumed throwing. …
Right-hander Sam Bachman is improving, but his back spasms have not subsided enough for him to resume throwing. Minasian said he’s not concerned that Bachman’s back is a long-term issue. …
Washington declined to say anything more about the MLB decision not to reverse the umpire’s call when Jo Adell was caught stealing to end Wednesday’s game. “You guys aren’t going to pay my fine if I say something,” Washington told reporters with a laugh.
UP NEXT
Twins (RHP Chris Paddack, 1-1, 5.57 ERA) at Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-3, 3.43 ERA), Saturday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
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ANAHEIM — Back in the first week of the season, Jo Adell was at the plate in Miami, with an 0-and-2 count. There was one out, and a runner at third base.
Adell punched a fly ball into right field, making a routine out but driving in a run.
That snapshot illustrated the progress for a player who might, finally, be finding his footing in the majors.
“Absolutely,” Adell said, recalling that moment. “Just slow the game down, look at what the situation was. There was a chance to score a run. Whatever the thought process of what I wanted to do personally was out the window at that point.”
Aside from simply hitting a fly ball, Adell managed to make contact on an 0-and-2 count and hit the ball the other way, which have been two of the keys to his early-season success.
“I think before this year, he was all pull,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We challenged him in spring training to use the right side of the field. Hit some balls between first and second. Hit some balls in the right-center field alley, and he’s taken to it. It’s sort of opened up his offensive game. He’s not just one dimensional. The results are starting to pay off.”
While it’s too early to say definitively that Adell, 25, has truly arrived after a few years of failing to meet the lofty expectations his prospect status brought, the signs are encouraging.
Adell is hitting .316 with two home runs and a .925 OPS through 43 plate appearances. Coming into the season, he had a .214 average with a .625 OPS.
Adell has pulled 27.5% of his balls in play this season, down from 43.8% prior to this season. Both of his homers are to right field.
Adell has cut his strikeout rate from 35.4% to 23.2%. He already has five hits in 22 at-bats with two strikes, a .228 average. Adell came into the season with a .149 average with two strikes. The major league average this season is .165.
“Huge credit to him,” hitting coach Johnny Washington said. “The hitting staff put together a plan. He embraced it. It’s been a huge change for him. He’s comfortable with it. It’s just about him getting more reps, trying to stay disciplined in the routine and his process. When he gets an opportunity to play, just go in there and win pitches, win at-bats.”
Opportunity has come and gone for Adell. At times, like when he was first promoted to the major leagues as a 21-year-old in 2020, Adell received opportunity when he probably wasn’t ready. Adell hit .161 in that first season, striking out in 41.6% of his plate appearances.
After that, the Angels continued putting veterans ahead of him on the depth chart for the next few years. The idea was to avoid handing Adell a job until he proved he had made the necessary adjustments.
Although he tore up Triple-A in 2021, 2022 and 2023, many of the same problems surfaced each time he got a taste of the majors. He struck out too much, with a pull-heavy, over-swinging approach.
Those issues prevented him from getting the most out of his elite power and speed.
With new hitting coaches this year, Adell has finally made significant changes.
“For me, it’s just getting there and looking for a pitch to hit and not looking to do too much, just simplifying what I’m trying to do,” Adell said. “If they make a mistake, I’ll be able to put one in the seats, but that’s not the primary goal. … I think that’s shrunk the zone for me, and I’ve made better decisions. It’s been more consistent, so I’m going to stay the course with that.”
Adell said now he’s “a lot shorter to the ball” and he’s focused on hitting the ball up the middle. Adell said he’s more conscious of simply putting the ball in play because even poorly hit balls can be hits because of his speed.
“Anytime I put the ball in play,” he said, “I put pressure on the defense.”
And he’s not focused on pulling the ball over the fence because he’s confident he can hit it over the right field fence too.
His improved approach has finally won him increased playing time. During the first two weeks of the season, Adell was clearly behind Mickey Moniak and Aaron Hicks on the depth chart. Now, Adell has started seven of the last 10 games. Moniak and Hicks have both slumped, so Adell seems primed to get some runway for extended playing time.
“We haven’t been doing much offensively, and the times that he’s played, he’s done something,” Ron Washington said. “The more you do, the more playing time you get. Right now, he’s getting playing time.”
While Washington has appreciated Adell’s improvement at the plate and in the field, the Angels are working through some base running issues with him.
Adell has stolen five bases, but he’s been caught four times. He was credited with a stolen base when he ran past second base and was tagged out on April 10.
Washington joked that the Angels need to “tie a rope to him,” to keep him from making outs on the bases.
“It’s a learning curve right there,” Washington said. “He’ll get better as we move through the year.”
Adell said he’s adjusting to the philosophy of the Angels’ new coaching staff.
“The thought process this year is a little bit different on the bases,” Adell said. “Obviously the guys that can really run, including myself, they want us to be really aggressive. And that hasn’t been the case in years prior. We’ve had kind of restraint on the running game. For me, it’s just learning how to take those bases, when there’s a smarter play.”
UP NEXT
Twins (RHP Bailey Ober, 1-1, 4.91 ERA) at Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 1-3, 6.75 ERA), Friday, 6:38 p.m., KCOP (Ch. 13), 830 AM
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ANAHEIM — As José Suarez trudged from the mound to the dugout, Angel Stadium fans let him know how they felt about the start to his season by showering him with boos.
The Angels’ left-hander entered in a close game and turned it into a not-so-close game, allowing four runs in the sixth inning of the Angels’ 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon.
Suarez now has a 9.20 ERA in 14⅔ innings over eight games.
It’s a small sample, to be sure, but the results have been consistently poor. This comes on the heels of a 2023 season in which Suarez had an 8.29 ERA, accumulating most of that in the first month before spending almost five months on the injured list.
Suarez, 26, has not been able to reproduce the solid work he did as a starter in 2021 and 2022. Now, he’s out of options, and another team would likely take a crack at him with a waiver claim if the Angels attempted to send him to the minors.
So far the Angels have only used him in games when they were losing. In four of the games the deficit was at least four runs, but in the other four the Angels have been down by one or two runs. He turned a two-run deficit into a four-run deficit in what was eventually a one-run loss on April 14 in Boston, and on Wednesday his outing was again costly.
The Angels trailed 2-0 before Suarez entered, and then he didn’t retire any of the first five hitters he faced. He got a double play, but a fourth run scored to run the deficit to 6-0.
That’s when he left and the fans let him hear it.
Adding to their frustration, soon after Suarez left the Angels’ hitters finally woke up, getting back in the game.
The Angels had just one hit through the first five innings, but in the sixth inning Mike Trout blasted a homer – his major-league leading 10th of the season – and then Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer. Zach Neto added a solo homer in the eighth, cutting the deficit to two runs.
In the ninth, the Angels scored one run when Ehire Adrianza went all the way to third on an infield hit and an error and then scored on a ground ball. Jo Adell drew a two-out walk, but he was caught stealing second to end it. The play was reviewed and he appeared to be safe, but the call on the field stood.
By coming up short, the Angels stuck Tyler Anderson with a loss on a day that he allowed two runs in five innings.
Anderson escaped the first, third and fifth innings, stranding two runners each time.
He was assisted by his defense twice. In the third, Miguel Sanó made a diving stop at third base to save a run. Two innings later, Ward tracked down a ball in the gap in left-center, saving an extra-base hit.
Sanó later left the game with left knee soreness.
With the loss, the Angels (10-15) once again failed to win back-to-back games. They haven’t had a winning streak of any length since winning four in a row from March 31-April 3, which was 19 games ago. They haven’t won a series in that span either.
More to come on this story.
Mike Trout is the first Major Leaguer this season to hit 10 home runs.
pic.twitter.com/jeceqUx7Y9— MLB (@MLB) April 24, 2024
.@TimSalmon15 breaks down the final play of the game
@Angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/XDGhj6ugKV— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 24, 2024
Taylor Ward gets it just over the wall for the 2 run HR
@Angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/BeI9wmKiFc— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 24, 2024
No words.@Angels pic.twitter.com/a3e8WKTIsW
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 24, 2024
SANÓ SNAGS A HEATER & GETS THE OUT
@angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/IRr3ks4U5e— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 24, 2024
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ANAHEIM — Brandon Drury continues to deal with a maddening hamstring injury that he’s trying not to make any worse.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Drury said on Wednesday, the sixth game in the last nine that he’s been out. “I want to be out there and help the team and start driving these runners in, but I know that’s coming. For now, I want to get this hamstring feeling right so I can be out there full force.”
Drury first felt an issue in Boston the weekend of April 12-14, and it got serious enough for him to come out of the game on April 15 at Tampa Bay.
Manager Ron Washington didn’t put him in the field, on the turf at Tropicana Field, for the remaining three games of that series. Drury returned in Cincinnati – twice as the DH – but he said he felt it again on Sunday.
“I was grinding through it in Cincinnati and then that last at-bat I cramped up on the pitch coming to my head, when I fell to the ground,” Drury said.
Considering that the Angels are already without Anthony Rendon because of a hamstring injury, Washington said he has decided to be conservative with Drury.
“If I had to put him out there he could go do it,” Washington said, “but I don’t have to put him out there and I want him to get healthy.”
Although Drury has been available to pinch-hit, it has to be a situation in which someone else could run for him and play defense.
Drury said he’s “shooting to start on Friday,” which follows an off day on Thursday. Washington said only that “we’ll see exactly how he feels” on Friday.
NOTES
Washington said he still has no information on the evaluation that Rendon underwent on Monday. The Angels are waiting to have a better idea of the severity of the injury. …
Washington took the field with shortstop Zach Neto for some pregame drills. Washington said Neto was giving him a hard time, so the 71-year-old manager wanted to show the 23-year-old shortstop what he could do. “I met the challenge,” Washington said. “Both of us were impeccable out there.” …
With Mike Trout moved into the leadoff spot for now, Washington said he’s content with Nolan Schanuel in the No. 2 spot. For now, anyway. “I got Schanuel in there hoping he can find his swing, some consistency, but I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the lineup you can put in stone,” Washington said. “Because as soon as I change it I’m going to get questions about it. I’m just letting you know at some point you might see a change. That’s just the way things go because we don’t have that cohesiveness working right now.” …
Friday’s game will be aired on KCOP instead of Bally Sports West because of a conflict with the Kings and Clippers in the playoffs. Game 3 of the Kings-Edmonton Oilers series will air on Bally Sports West, and Game 3 of the Clippers-Dallas Mavericks series will be on Bally Sports SoCal.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 1-3, 6.75) vs. Twins (TBD) at Angel Stadium, 6:38 p.m. PT Friday, KCOP, 830 AM.
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ANAHEIM — In the wake another mediocre offensive performance in the Angels’ fifth straight loss, Manager Ron Washington promised that they were doing the work that was bound to turn their fortune eventually.
It happened a day later.
The Angels got production from throughout the lineup – including a first-inning home run from leadoff man Mike Trout – in a 7-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
Washington put his star at the top of the order, a spot he hadn’t been since 2020, in an effort to “shake things up.” Trout blasted a homer on the fourth pitch he saw, marking the first time he’d led off the first inning with a homer since Sept. 28, 2012.
Trout got the Angels going, and the bottom of the lineup sparked most of the rest of the Angels’ 11-hit attack. Logan O’Hoppe, Jo Adell, Luis Rengifo and Zach Neto had two hits apiece.
The Angels (10-14) scored two in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead.
Five Angels players had extra-base hits that left the bat at 104 mph or harder against Grayson Rodriguez.
It could have been an easy victory, but the Orioles wouldn’t cooperate. They came into the game with a 15-7 record and averaging a league-best 5.73 runs per game.
Angels starter Griffin Canning picked up his first victory of the season by allowing three runs in five innings.
Although the final line was pedestrian, it was a second straight encouraging start for Canning after three miserable outings to begin the season.
Canning didn’t allow a hit until the fourth and he didn’t give up a run until the fifth, when the Orioles finally tagged him for three runs after the Angels had a seven-run lead.
Canning hadn’t made it through the first two innings without allowing a run in any of his previous four outings this season.
The Orioles also sent a lineup against Canning with eight players swinging from the left side, including two switch hitters. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Canning had allowed a 1.096 OPS against lefties this season.
Canning left the Angels four innings to get out of the bullpen, which was well rested because starters José Soriano and Reid Detmers had worked six and seven innings, respectively, in the previous two games.
Right-hander Adam Cimber got through the sixth. Left-hander Matt Moore gave up a Gunnar Henderson homer in the seventh, just after he was hit by a comebacker.
Moore then gave up a single and he was pulled. Luis Garcia gave up another hit to bring the potential tying run to the plate before he retired the final two to escape with a three-run run lead.
Garcia then worked a perfect eighth and closer Carlos Estévez handled the ninth to pick up the save. It was Estévez’s first outing since his blown save a week earlier in Tampa.
More to come on this story.
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ANAHEIM — Robert Stephenson said his elbow felt “perfectly fine,” up until the moment that it didn’t.
It was the second pitch of his rehab outing on April 13. The Angels reliever threw a slider and he could tell something was wrong.
“It just came out weird,” Stephenson said on Tuesday, the first time he’d spoken to the media since the injury. “I just felt it right when I threw it. I tried to throw a couple more pitches after that, but just something felt wrong. I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it ended up.”
It ended up with Stephenson needing Tommy John surgery. He said he’ll have the surgery on April 30. Stephenson said he will also have the internal brace, which is a relatively new supplement to the traditional Tommy John surgery.
The brace, which is a piece of surgical tape that gives extra support to the reconstructed ulnar collateral ligament, does not change the recovery time frame, Stephenson said.
“It’s about a year, up to 15, maybe 18 months,” Stephenson said. “Being a reliever obviously helps, but I’m not sure.”
Stephenson said he was disappointed to have his Angels career stalled before he’d thrown a single pitch in a game. He missed all of spring training with a shoulder injury, which he said he didn’t think was that serious of an injury. He said there was no indication that anything was wrong with his elbow throughout the process.
The Angels signed Stephenson, 31, to a three-year, $33 million deal in January. He earned that contract by being one of the best relievers in baseball after changing the way he used his slider when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays last summer. Stephenson had a 2.35 ERA with 60 strikeouts and eight walks in 38⅓ innings with the Rays.
Stephenson would have begun the season as the primary setup man to closer Carlos Estévez, and the most likely replacement for Estévez if he got hurt or struggled.
Now, the Angels won’t see Stephenson until sometime next season, and perhaps not until 2026.
The injury will trigger a clause in Stephenson’s contract allowing the Angels to have an option to bring him back in 2027 for $2.5 million.
TROUT AT THE TOP
On the heels of a five-game losing streak in which run-production has been the primary problem, Manager Ron Washington juggled his lineup by moving Mike Trout to the leadoff spot.
Trout hit leadoff often during his rookie year in 2012, but hardly at all since. His last game in the No. 1 spot was in 2020.
“Just trying to shake things up,” Washington said before Tuesday’s game. “Just trying to see if I can get some different cohesiveness with my lineup. From what I understand, he did it before so it’s not foreign to him. Shoot, if we could put him there and get a run in the first inning, I’m all for that. But I’m just trying to try things and see what works, what I can stick with.”
Washington said he asked Trout about the switch.
“His comment was the same as always: ‘Whatever you want, Skip,’” Washington said.
NOTES
Washington said on Tuesday he still hadn’t received the final opinion on third baseman Anthony Rendon’s evaluation. Rendon, who is out with a hamstring strain, went for further testing on Monday. …
Washington has been encouraged that first baseman Nolan Schanuel is getting his swing back. Schanuel’s average dropped to .093 before a five-game hitting streak, which he carried into Tuesday’s game. Schanuel was 8 for 19 (.421) during the five games, making him just about the only player hitting well during the losing streak. “I think it’s more or less him getting back to who he is,” Washington said. “And it all started the night in Cincinnati when he got three hits, where he got two hits to the left side. That sort of opened him up a little bit, because that side of the field is his strength. And he wasn’t using it.”
UP NEXT
Orioles (RHP Dean Kremer, 0-2, 4.91 ERA) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-2, 1.42), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
OC Register: Angels waste strong outing from Griffin Canning in loss to Guardians
in LA Angels | MLB Daily
Posted
CLEVELAND — The Angels wasted a strong outing from starter Griffin Canning.
Although Canning gave up two runs in six innings, he was behind when he left the game. Reliever Matt Moore then gave up an eighth-inning two-run homer to seal the Angels’ 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
The Angels lineup was already short-handed with Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Miguel Sanó on the injured list, but on Sunday they were also without Logan O’Hoppe because of a bruised hand and Luis Rengifo because of an illness.
The remaining players generated just one run, on a Jo Adell sacrifice fly in the second inning. Matt Thaiss was thrown out at the plate trying to score the second run of the inning.
The Angels were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. The most frustrating of those outs was in the sixth. After Taylor Ward’s one-out double, Willie Calhoun hit a line drive that was snagged by leaping right fielder Ramon Laureano. Laureano, who regularly tortured the Angels with his defense when he was with the Oakland A’s, also made the first throw in the relay that got Thaiss at the plate.
With the loss, the Angels failed in their 11th consecutive opportunity to win a game that would clinch a series victory. The only series they have won this season was April 1-3 in Miami.
Earlier this week, they had a chance to take two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies. In that game starter Patrick Sandoval gave two runs, but the Angels were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and they lost 2-1.
This time, Canning gave up two runs, on one swing at the end of a 10-pitch duel against Guardians star José Ramirez.
Canning cruised through the first five innings on just 62 pitches, pounding the strike zone and barely facing any trouble.
In the sixth, he gave up a one-out single just before Ramirez came to the plate. Ramirez fouled off a 3-and-2 changeup and then a slider. Canning then threw him a fastball, up and away, and Ramirez lifted it just a few feet beyond the top of the fence in right field.
It was still Canning’s best game of the season. It was the first time he’d finished six innings, and second time he’d allowed as few as two runs. He walked one and struck out five.
More to come on this story.
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