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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

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.@TimSalmon15 breaks down the final play of the game@Angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/XDGhj6ugKV

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Taylor Ward gets it just over the wall for the 2 run HR@Angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/BeI9wmKiFc

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No words.@Angels pic.twitter.com/a3e8WKTIsW

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SANÓ SNAGS A HEATER & GETS THE OUT@angels | #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/IRr3ks4U5e

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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

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ANAHEIM — Angels hitters showed some signs of life on Monday night, but not enough to snap their losing streak.

The Angels ran their scoreless streak to 18 innings on their way to a 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, their fifth straight loss.

The Angels (9-14) were shut out on Sunday in Cincinnati and they didn’t have a run until Jo Adell’s homer in the seventh inning against the Orioles, when they were already down by four.

A Nolan Schanuel RBI single cut the deficit to two, and they had a promising rally in the ninth, but they came up short.

The Angels loaded the bases against Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel with one out, but Schanuel popped out. Mike Trout then was called out on strikes. It was the second time in the young season that a ninth-inning comeback attempt ended with the bases loaded and Trout at the plate, including the April 14 game at Boston.

During the losing streak the Angels have scored seven runs and they’ve hit .211.

Trout and Taylor Ward, two of the only Angels players who had been hot for most of the first three weeks, have gone cold lately. Trout is 1 for 18 and Ward is 2 for 17 during the losing streak.

Trout drew a first-inning walk on Monday, and then Ward and Miguel Sanó failed to so much as advance him. In the third, Zach Neto was at second with Trout and Ward coming to the plate, and neither could drive him in.

A fitting snapshot of the Angels’ futility came in the sixth inning.

Trout led off by drawing a walk. As Ward worked a full count, the Angels put Trout in motion. Ward then punched the 3-and-2 pitch right back to right-hander Albert Suarez. He snagged it and then casually flipped it to first, for a double play.

Trout had another opportunity in the seventh, after Schanuel’s single. He represented the tying run when he grounded out.

While the hitters struggled for most of the night, starter Reid Detmers pitched well enough to get through seven innings, allowing four runs.

The Orioles nicked him for single runs in the second, third, fifth and seventh innings.

James McCann pulled a homer just inside the left field pole to get the Orioles on the board. An inning later, Detmers walked No. 9 hitter Jorge Mateo to start the inning. Mateo then stole second and third. Adley Rutschman then poked a soft line drive over the drawn-in infield, knocking in a run.

In the fifth, Detmers nearly struck out Gunnar Henderson, but catcher Logan O’Hoppe had the foul tip bounce out of his glove. Henderson then rolled a single through the right side, and Rutschman drove him in with a double into the gap.

Detmers gave up a homer to Colton Cowser in the seventh.

More to come on this story.

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ANAHEIM — The Angels are trying to get Luis Rengifo out of his defensive slump.

Rengifo made errors in two of the Angels’ losses over the weekend in Cincinnati, and a third misplay was ruled a hit.

Last week against the Tampa Bay Rays, Rengifo failed to come up with a backhand play that could have been the final out of an Angels victory, and they ended up losing in 13 innings. That was a tough play that might not have been an out even if Rengifo had played it perfectly, but it was nonetheless part of a rough week.

“On the defensive side you lose your rhythm, just like you lose your rhythm at the plate,” said Manager Ron Washington, who is considered MLB’s pre-eminent infield guru. “It just looks like his rhythm is off. He’s getting balls in between. That happens when you lose your rhythm. We’re coming out today and we’re going to try to get his rhythm back. He’s been very good until the last road trip.”

Rengifo was not in the lineup against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.

The slump comes at an inopportune time because the Angels are now down one infielder with third baseman Anthony Rendon’s hamstring injury. Second baseman Brandon Drury has also been in out of the lineup in the last week because of a hamstring issue.

Washington said they don’t need Rengifo to be the everyday third baseman in Rendon’s absence because of Miguel Sanó’s emergence.

Sanó has not been known for his defense, but Washington has raved about the improvement he’s made since showing up as a non-roster invitee to spring training.

“I’ve been really impressed,” Washington said. “If you guys have watched him out there, he’s shown that he’s a different guy. Sometimes perception can bury you. As hard as he worked in February in spring training, now he’s starting to show that he can carry it over. We’re going to give him that opportunity.”

TALK IT OUT

Angels pitchers were scheduled to meet with Washington and the coaches on Monday afternoon to talk about their issues throwing strikes, which had been an emphasis in spring training.

Coming into Monday’s game, the Angels ranked 29th in the majors in first-pitch strikes, 23rd in strike percentage and 23rd in walks per nine innings.

“We’re trying to find out the reason why,” Washington said. “It starts with them and then we (the staff) takes our blame for it. We’ve got to find out what part they play, and then we’ll find out what part we can play to (improve it). It’s just going to be education for us and them.”

NOTES

Rendon (hamstring) was set to undergo a further evaluation on Monday. As of Monday afternoon, the Angels had not provided results of that evaluation. …

Drury was out of the lineup on Monday as a precaution. Drury had missed time last week because of a hamstring tightness. He returned to play over the weekend in Cincinnati, where the weather was cold, so Washington wanted to give him another day after the cross-country travel to try to mitigate the chance of him aggravating the injury. “We just lost one of our best players, so I don’t want to lose another one because of a hamstring,” Washington said. …

Right-hander Sam Bachman (shoulder) has been shut down from throwing because of mid back spasms. Bachman had surgery last fall, and the Angels were bringing him back slowly because they wanted him to start, and they didn’t want him to accumulate too many innings. Prior to the setback with his back, Bachman had been projected to begin a minor league rehab assignment around the start of May. …

Right-hander Guillo Zuñiga (right pectoral strain) is scheduled to resume throwing on Tuesday. …

Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) is still not cleared to throw. …

Infielder Michael Stefanic (quadriceps strain), who had a setback earlier this month, is scheduled to resume running on Tuesday. Stefanic has been able to hit and take ground balls.

UP NEXT

Orioles (RHP Grayson Rodriguez, 3-0, 2.63 ERA) at Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 0-3, 8.05), Tuesday, 6:38 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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CINCINNATI – One day after his throwing error led to a five-run first inning for the Cincinnati Reds, Angels second baseman Luis Rengifo booted a two-out ground ball that resulted in three unearned runs and a 3-0 loss Sunday before a crowd of 23,935 at Great American Ball Park.

Angels starter José Soriano (0-3) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz broke it up with a one-out infield single. Two batters later, Rengifo misplayed Nick Martini’s grounder, and Cristian Encarnacion-Strand smoked a two-run double off the top of the wall in left-center field.

Jeimer Candelario’s triple plated Encarnacion-Strand for a 3-0 lead and spoiled the longest outing of Soriano’s career. The right-hander finished with a career-high seven strikeouts in six innings while allowing three hits, three walks and a hit batter.

The Reds had no hits before the sixth and only one after, but the three unearned runs were more than enough for the Cincinnati bullpen, which compiled 8 1/3 shutout innings after starter Frankie Montas took a Miguel Sanó line drive off his right forearm in the top of the first and exited after just 16 pitches.

Emilio Pagan (2-1) earned the win as the second of five relievers for Cincinnati, while closer Alexis Diaz secured his fourth save of the season and second in as many games.

The Angels left five runners on base through the first three innings and nine for the game as they dropped their fourth game in a row and ended their 10-game road trip with a 3-7 record.

They will be back in action Monday at home against the Baltimore Orioles.

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CINCINNATI – The Angels placed third baseman Anthony Rendon on the injured list Sunday morning after he pulled his hamstring legging out an infield single minutes into Saturday night’s 7-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The Angels promoted infielder Ehire Adrianza to take Rendon’s spot on the roster.

The third-base dugout wasn’t the only section of Great American Ball Park disappointed to see the Rendon injury, which pitcher Patrick Sandoval called “gut-wrenching.”

In a suite above the visitors dugout down the third-base line, Rendon’s good friend James Casey, who is the tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals, had come to the game with his wife, two sons and some other members of the coaching staff.

Casey, who went into the Rice University Hall of Fame along with Rendon last October, took his sons onto the field before the game to catch up with Rendon.

“We met at Rice, but obviously he was a little bit older, and I was just a freshman,” Rendon said. “You hear what he was doing on the football field, and then we ended up doing some promotional stuff together with baseball and football and we started talking and texting after that.”

The Chicago White Sox drafted Casey, who is six years older than Rendon, in the seventh round out of high school, but he retired from the sport after three seasons and enrolled at Rice to play tight end.

The Houston Texans drafted Casey in the fifth round in 2009, while the Washinton Nationals picked Rendon sixth overall in 2011, and the two have remained close since.

Casey played seven seasons in the NFL for the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos and has been the tight ends coach in Cincinnati since 2019.

“Seventh grade was the highlight of my football career,” Rendon joked Sunday morning before the series finale against the Reds. “After that I was too small. I was facing guys his size. I wasn’t gonna hang around too much longer.

“We had more conversations this offseason than ever, and just getting to know him he’s such an impressive guy,” Rendon added. “It was great to see him and his boys again.”

Angels manager Ron Washinton said the team will have a better idea of the timeline for Rendon’s injury when the team returns to Los Angeles.

“The next day it always seems worse because stiffness sets in,” Washington said. “You have to get the blood flowing again, and each day that comes and goes, it will get better.”

EJECTION TO PROMOTION

Before Adrianza was called up for Rendon, his Saturday was cut short when he was ejected in the second inning of Triple-A Salt Lake City’s game for questioning a call by the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) system.

“By the way, it was a strike,” he admitted with a laugh shortly after getting to GABP following a long night and morning of travel.

Adrianza left Salt Lake City late Saturday night and arrived in Atlanta at 5 a.m. ET for a three-hour layover before flying to Cincinnati.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’m on the big-league club, so I have no complaints. I’m great to go.”

If Adrianza gets into Sunday’s game, it will be his first MLB appearance since May 1 with Atlanta. He spent spring training with the Angels but was beaten out by Miguel Sano.

In 14 games at Salt Lake this season, Adrianza hit .349 with two doubles, three triples, one run, four RBIs and two steals.

“It’s awesome to have him back,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He’s a very professional-type guy, and he’s already ready to play. I think he’s got a lot that he can bring to our team.”

COUNTDOWN CONTINUES

Sunday marked the 9,999th regular-season game in Angels history, with No. 10,000 scheduled for Monday against Baltimore at Angel Stadium.

The Angels will be the first expansion team to reach 10,000 games, and fans in attendance will receive a commemorative pin.

UP NEXT

Orioles (RHP Albert Suarez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers 3-0, 1.19), 6:38 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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CINCINNATI — Saturday night could not have started any worse for the Angels as a chaotic first inning saw Anthony Rendon removed from the game with a hamstring injury, an out removed from the scoreboard due to a ground rule and Patrick Sandoval’s misplaced fastball removed from the field of play on a bases-clearing swing.

Tyler Stephenson’s first career grand slam erased an early Angels lead and propelled the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 victory before a crowd of 27,343 at Great American Ball Park.

Sandoval (1-3) initially appeared to have caught a break after first baseman Nolan Schanuel played the carom on Luis Rengifo’s wild throw and cut down Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer trying to reach second base. But because the ball ricocheted off the netting in front of the photographers’ well, which is out of play, the umpires convened and awarded Steer second base.

A double and two walks later, Stephenson hit his second home run of the series and third of the season into the right field bullpen for a 5-2 lead.

That was more than enough cushion for Cincinnati starter Graham Ashcraft (3-1), who retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced after Miguel Sano’s first-inning double scored Mike Trout and Zach Neto, pinch running for the injured Rendon.

Rendon pulled up lame while beating out a game-opening infield single, and the veteran third baseman left after a short consultation with trainers.

Sano added a two-run homer off Ashcraft in the sixth to get the Angels within 7-4, and Rengifo’s RBI groundout later in the inning closed the gap to 7-5.

But that’s as close as they would get as Reds relivers Nick Martinez and Alexis Diaz combined for three shutout innings to end the game, with Diaz securing his third save with a perfect ninth, leaving Trout on deck.

Sandoval lasted four-plus innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits, five walks and a balk. He struck out six.

Angels relievers Jose Suarez, Hunter Strickland and Luis Garcia threw five innings of scoreless relief.

The loss dropped the Angels (9-12) to 3-6 on their 10-game road trip, which concludes Sunday at 10:40 a.m. PT as they try to avoid a Cincinnati sweep.

More to come on this story.

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CINCINNATI — Angels manager Ron Washington decided to give Zach Neto a rest Saturday as the young shortstop continues to struggle at the plate, but it didn’t last long.

Washington, who said before Saturday’s game against the Reds that he wouldn’t hesitate to bring Neto off the bench in the right situation, had it happen on the first play of the game when Angels leadoff hitter Anthony Rendon injured his hamstring legging out an infield single.

Neto came in to run for Rendon and scored the Angels’ first run in a two-run first inning.

“If things go where I have to get him in the game today, he will be in the game,” Washington said. “But I just need him to relax a little bit. (He’s) just trying too hard. Because in his mind he knows he’s better, and because he doesn’t have a whole lot of experience. Sometimes when you don’t have a lot of experience and you know you’re better, you can do worse to yourself than good for yourself.”

Neto went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in Friday night’s 7-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, with the second one coming when he looked at a third strike with runners on second and third with two outs in a one-run game in the seventh inning.

The 23-year-old has just two three in his last 22 at-bats and is hitting .185 with a .264 on-base percentage.

“Just a day,” Washington said. “You’ve got the young kid out there grinding. He’s working his butt off offensively, and it’s not happening for him. I don’t want it to get in his head, so I’ll just give him a day to kick back.”

The positive part of Neto’s slow start is that he hasn’t allowed his issues with the bat follow him into the field.

And Washington made it clear it better not come to that.

“Defense is his signature,” he said. “He’s got to learn who he is offensively. Defensively, he knows what he is. And he better bring that every day.”

Then Washington repeated it for emphasis.

“Did you hear what I said?” he asked. “He better bring that every day. I didn’t say he needs to bring it every day. He better bring it.

“He’s gonna find himself offensively. He’s young,” Washington continued.

LEAGUE LEADERS

Taylor Ward entered Saturday’s with an American League-leading 21 RBIs. His career-long streak of six consecutive games with an RBI ended Thursday at Tampa Bay, and he failed to drive in a run Friday night in the 7-1 loss to Cincinnati.

But Ward’s 21 RBIs are the most by an Angels player through the first 20 games of a season since Don Baylor had a franchise-record 27 in 1979.

The only other Angels player to have more than Ward’s 21 through the first 20 games was Joel Rudi, who had 26 in 1977.

Mike Trout also entered the day as a league leader with eight home runs. Those eight homers are tied for the second most in franchise history through the first 20 games. The only other with more was Leon Wagner, who had nine in 1962.

Trout also had eight homers through 20 games in 2020, and Brian Downing did it in 1987.

Entering Saturday, Trout ranked second in the AL in slugging percentage at .628, and was tied for second with 49 total bases.

ONE AND DONE

The 2-1 loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday and 7-1 loss at Cincinnati on Friday marked the first time since July the Angels have failed to score more than one run in back-to-back games, a span of 77 contests.

The last time it happened was July 28-29, when the Toronto Blue Jays beat them 4-1 and 6-1.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP  Jose Soriano, 0-2, 4.80 ERA) at Reds (RHP Frankie Montas, 2-3, 4.34 ERA), 10:40 a.m. PT Sunday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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CINCINNATI — Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson pitched into the seventh inning for the third time in four starts, but the lone earned run he allowed, a 433-foot home run to Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson, was all the offense the Reds needed in a 7-1 victory on Friday night before a crowd of 22,539 at Great American Ball Park.

Angeles relievers Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero turned a tight game into a rout by surrendering five runs in the bottom of the eighth, with Elly De La Cruz’s opposite field, three-run home run providing the dagger.

Luis Rengifo went 2 for 4 with a double, and Jo Adell went 2 for 3 while driving in the Angels’ only run as they out-hit the Reds 7-5.

Rengifo’s double in the top of the seventh put runners on second and third with one out, chasing Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo (2-0).

But Reds reliever Fernando Cruz recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Adell and Zach Neto, catching both hitters looking, to escape the jam with a 2-1 lead intact.

The Reds got their first run off Anderson (2-2) in the second inning when De La Cruz singled, stole second and third and came home on O’Hoppe’s throwing error for an unearned run.

The Angels tied it 1-1 in the top of the fifth when Rengifo hit a two-out single to center, stole second and scored on Adell’s single to left, marking the first run Lodolo had allowed in 10⅓ innings this season.

But one inning later, Stephenson hit the first pitch he saw from Anderson, an 88 mph four-seam fastball, into the upper deck in left field for a tie-breaking home run.

Anderson went seven innings, allowing three hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Cimber loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth before hitting Nick Martini to make it 3-1, ending his night. Cisnero came on to face De La Cruz with the bases loaded and threw a wild pitch to make it 4-1. De La Cruz hit the next pitch into the left-field bleachers for his sixth homer of the season and a 7-1 lead.

The loss dropped the Angels to 3-5 on their 10-game road trip.

The teams will meet again on Saturday at 3:40 p.m. PT.

More to come on this story.

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CINCINNATI — The lineup wasn’t the only place Brandon Drury was happy to return to Friday night.

After missing two games with a hamstring injury and being limited to pinch-hitting duties on Thursday in Tampa Bay, Drury was batting fifth as the designated hitter in his first return to Great American Ball Park since the Cincinnati Reds traded him at the deadline in 2022.

“It’s actually pretty cool being back here because this is when I got my career back on track,” Drury said. “I was signing back-to-back minor league deals, and then Cincy gave me an opportunity to play here, and I kind of found myself here. So it feels good to be back.”

Drury hit .298 with a .354 on-base percentage, 12 home runs and 38 RBIs in 52 home games with the Reds at GABP before they traded him to the San Diego Padres.

He appeared in 92 games overall with the Reds in the first four months of 2022, which was 20 more than he had played in the prior two seasons combined.

“Really it was the previous four years before coming to Cincy that were a real grind,” said Drury, 31. “I got DFA’d a couple of times and signed the minor-league deals. And then to find my footing here and play every day in the big leagues and again and have some success was pretty special for me.”

Angels manager Ron Washington said whether Drury returns to play first base over the weekend will depend on how he comes out of Friday’s game.

“We’re not ready to put him on the defensive side and let him make sudden moves, so we let him DH today because he’s ready to go, and we’ll see how he comes out of that,” Washington said.

Washington didn’t want to commit to anything, but he said he likes Drury’s chances of playing in the field Saturday and/or Sunday.

“There’s a good chance,” he said. “I’m not sitting here guaranteeing it, but it’s a good chance. It depends how he comes out of today. If he happens to get on base and runs the bases, it’ll say a lot.”

SCHEDULING STRIKES

Washington, pitching coach Barry Enright and other members of the staff have a plan to address the ongoing, head-scratching inability to throw strikes that has been plaguing the starting pitchers despite the intense focus on it in spring training.

“We’re gonna have a conversation when we get back home with our starters – just the starters – and we’re gonna have each one of them explain to us why they’ve gotten away from what we talked about in spring training,” Washington said.

The Angels entered the weekend series in Cincinnati ranked last in the majors in first-pitch strike percentage at 57.8.

“When you’ve got a young staff and you see things not going the way you want them to go, you have to have conversations with them,” Washington said. “Because maybe it’s something we’re not doing as a staff to help you do what we promised each other we were gonna do.

“Each one of them is going to explain why they’re not doing what we talked about,” Washington said. “And if our pitching staff has something to do with it, I want each one of them to call them out in their presence.”

Washington emphasized the fact that it is going to be a conversation and not a lecture. But he said the starting pitchers are going to get it corrected.

Because they have to.

“We’re gonna get back to throwing strikes, because that’s the only way we’re gonna survive,” Washington said. “We can’t survive if we don’t throw the ball over the plate.”

GARCIA GETTING GOING

After a dismal debut this season in which he gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits without recording an out followed by allowing a home run in his second appearance, reliever Luis Garcia has not surrendered a run in his last seven appearances.

In fact, he’s allowed just one hit and no walks with five strikeouts in that seven-game stretch.

“It was just a matter of time for Garcia to get back together,” Washington said.

Thursday at Tampa Bay, Washington brought in Garcia with runners on the corners and one out with the Angels trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning. Garcia got the Rays’ Jose Caballero to ground into an inning-ending double play before pitching a perfect seventh with two strikeouts.

“He has his sinker working again, and he proved that the other day when I brought him in in a first-and-third situation and got a ground-ball double play,” Washington said. “It doesn’t always happen like that for you, but it happened.

“That’s the way it’s been going,” he added. “He’s been getting a lot of ground balls recently, and in some tough situations he’s really been getting the ball on the ground. That’s what we want him to do.”

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 1-2, 4.67 ERA) at Reds (RHP Graham Ashcraft, 2-1, 4.15 ERA), Saturday, 3:40 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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Taylor Blake Ward made a trip out to San Bernardino to visit the Inland Empire 66er's and caught up with Los Angeles Angels prospects RHP's Riley Bauman, Justin Britt and Barrett Kent, and outfielder Joe Redfield. 

Check out the interviews below. 

Barrett Kent has seen an immense rise in his prospect status after a strong post-draft showing in 2023. Continuing to show his rotation prowess during the spring, he has carried that into a strong start to the 2024 season. Barrett talks us through his winter and spring and what will make him successful over his first full season.

Logan Britt never pitched in high school and only faced three hitters in college. Now he's pitching professionally in a rotation. Logan takes us into his arsenal and how pitching became part of his baseball future.

After suffering two Tommy John surgeries, Riley Bauman stayed on the radar of Angels scout, K.J. Hendricks, which led to a 13th round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft. Bauman shined during instructional league play, showcasing new velocity and promising secondaries. Riley takes us through his journey to pro ball and talks about the early stages of his professional career.

Joe Redfield was near the top of most offensive categories across Division-1 baseball his junior season that led to a fourth round selection by the Angels in 2023. Joe talks to us about his junior season, early professional career, personal goals for the season, and how his swing plane and speed can carry him into a Major League future.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The good news for the Angels was that Griffin Canning finally changed course.

The bad news is it happened on a day they didn’t hit.

The Angels lost 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon, missing a chance to win the four-game series and wasting Canning’s encouraging outing.

Mike Trout produced the Angels only run, leading off the sixth inning with a walk. Trout stole second and third – giving him five steals this season – and he scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Angels managed just three plate appearances with a runner in scoring position all afternoon, including the one to end the game.

They had some hope when Miguel Sanó led off the ninth with an infield single. Two outs later, Luis Renigfo singled, sending pinch-runner Jo Adell to second. Brandon Drury then grounded out.

Canning, who brought a 9.88 ERA into the game, was much improved from his first three games, giving up just two runs in 5 1/3 innings despite a shaky start.

Canning allowed two runs within his first 17 pitches. He walked hitter Richie Palacios and then gave up a triple to Amed Rosario, who punched a line drive to right field on a 94 mph fastball off the outside corner. Rosario then scored on a sacrifice fly.

After that, though, Canning did not allow anything else. He gave up just three more singles, including an infield hit. He struck out four and didn’t walk anyone after Palacios.

Canning also had more velocity on his fastball, after starting the season down about 2 mph from last year. He regularly hit 94 mph in the first four innings, although the numbers dipped as he got deeper into the game.

More to come on this story.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As news of Robert Stephenson’s season-ending elbow injury hit the Angels, the reality hit that this bullpen is going to need some help.

From the starters.

“We’d like to take some of the load off (the relievers) because I don’t think we can keep this up,” manager Ron Washington said. “We’re trying to put some pressure on our starting pitchers to try to go out there and pound the strike zone early, so by the time we’re getting into the sixth or seventh inning, we have convenient pitches to get us deep in the game.”

Angels starters were averaging 4.9 innings per start heading into Thursday’s game, which ranked 27th in the majors.

Obviously there have been some starts cut short because of poor performances, but in other games the pitch count has knocked out the starter early.

Left-hander Patrick Sandoval, the Angels’ Opening Day starter, still hasn’t finished six innings. On Monday night, he gave up only one run in an encouraging start, but he was done after five innings because he was at 93 pitches.

Left-hander Reid Detmers has been the Angels’ best starter, but his longest outing was 6 1/3 innings. Left-hander Tyler Anderson is the only Angels starter to finish seven innings, doing it twice in his three starts.

Right-hander Griffin Canning, who has struggled in his first three starts, hadn’t gotten an out in the sixth inning as he went into Thursday’s start.

Right-hander José Soriano has been a reliever, so he’s still learning how to get deep into a game. Washington said he was “gassed” after throwing 90 pitches in five innings Tuesday.

One of the underlying issues has been that the pitchers have so far not accomplished the team’s often-discussed goal of throwing more strikes.

Angels starters and relievers both rank dead last in the majors in percentage of first-pitch strikes.

“All you can do is constantly talk about it,” Washington said. “At some point, these guys are pretty good professionals, they’ll figure it out. But we need them to pound the strike zone more, especially strike one.”

LEFT OUT

The Angels are going to face left-hander Nick Lodolo on Friday in Cincinnati, ending their streak of 13 consecutive games against right-handed starters.

The Angels faced only two lefties in the first 19 games, winning them both.

The Angels’ two switch-hitters, Aaron Hicks and Luis Rengifo, are significantly better against left-handed pitchers. The power hitters in the middle of the Angels order – Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, Brandon Drury and Logan O’Hoppe – are all right-handed hitters, so mixing in more lefties could help them too.

NOTES

Matt Vasgersian will be doing play by play on the Angels’ television broadcasts this weekend in Cincinnati. It will be the first series of the year for Vasgersian with the Angels. …

Mike Trout set the Angels franchise record for walks this week, passing Tim Salmon with his 971st walk. Trout also extended his franchise record with 376 homers.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-1, 1.47) vs. Reds (LHP Nick Lodolo, 1-0, 0.00) at Great American Ball Park, 3:40 p.m. PT Friday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Robert Stephenson, who received the Angels’ largest free agent contract this winter, will miss the entire 2024 season because of an elbow injury.

The team announced Stephenson’s status after Wednesday night’s comeback win against the Tampa Bay Rays, but declined to give further specifics on the exact nature of the injury or what type of procedure he would undergo until Thursday.

Stephenson, 31, missed most of spring training with a sore shoulder, but he felt an elbow issue four pitches into his first rehab outing at Triple-A on Saturday.

He went for an evaluation on Monday and then sought a second opinion.

Losing Stephenson is a difficult blow for this year’s bullpen, but with a potential silver lining in the long term. The Angels put a clause in Stephenson’s three-year, $33 million deal that gives them an option for a fourth year at just $2.5 million, if Stephenson misses 130 consecutive days on the injured list with an elbow injury. It is essentially insurance against Tommy John surgery.

The Angels would not have to decide whether they’re picking up that option until after the 2026 season.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A night after the Angels continually came up short when the game was on the line, they got the job done.

The Angels rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, scoring two runs in the ninth inning just after they had surrendered the lead by giving up two in the eighth.

Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto, two of the Angels’ struggling hitters, reached base with one out in the ninth. Pinch-runner Jo Adell then stole third, with Neto stealing second a pitch later.

Anthony Rendon drove in Adell to tie the score. Neto was thrown out at the plate.

The Rays then intentionally walked Mike Trout, but Taylor Ward followed with an RBI single, knocking in Rendon with the go-ahead run.

Right-hander Hunter Strickland, who had allowed a two-run homer to Amed Rosario in the eighth, worked the ninth to finish the game for a short-handed Angels bullpen.

The Angels (9-9) had been taxed from Tuesday’s gut-wrenching, 13-inning loss, leaving Adam Cimber and Strickland to pick up all 11 outs after starter Reid Detmers.

Although Detmers, who has been the Angels’ best pitcher so far this season, delivered the quality the Angels needed, they would have liked another inning or two.

Detmers cruised through first four innings, allowing just one unearned run, but in the sixth he gave up singles to the first three hitters of the inning. That cut the Angels lead to 3-2, with runners at the corners.

Detmers got one more out, on a pop-up to the catcher, and then Cimber escaped the jam with a strikeout and a pop-up, preserving the lead.

Cimber got out of another mess in the seventh inning, this time with the help of a great play by shortstop Zach Neto.

The Rays had runners at first and second with one out, after an infield hit and a hit batter. Dangerous leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz hit a soft liner back up the middle. Neto raced toward the bag and snagged it, then flung himself to slap his glove on the base before the runner could get back, for an inning-ending double play.

The Angels got the scoring started with Trout’s eighth homer of the season, equaling the major league lead.

More to come on this story.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — José Soriano took another step along what the Angels hope is the path to being a frontline major league starter.

Long before the Angels’ gut-wrenching, 13-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Rays ended on Tuesday night, it was set up to be Soriano’s first victory as a big league starter.

Soriano gave up one run and one hit in five innings, striking out six and walking five. He threw 90 pitches.

“I think he’s coming along,” Manager Ron Washington said on Wednesday. “I do understand he’s recognizing now that to be a starting pitcher, it takes work. So that means not only work on the mound, but preparing to get on that mound.

“As a reliever, go out there and run five sprints and you’re good to go. As a starter, you have to have everything in better shape to be able to throw 100 or 120 pitches. He’s recognizing that. I think the next time he won’t be as gassed.”

Washington paid a visit to Soriano with two outs in the fifth, after he issued a walk to the No. 9 hitter on his 79th pitch. Soriano then walked leadoff man Yandy Diaz before coming back to strike out Randy Arozarena to end his night.

Soriano has made two major league starts, both against the Rays. He gave up four runs in four innings the first time, and improved a week later.

“Facing a team the second time is tough,” General Manager Perry Minasian said. “To do what he did, only give up one hit after seeing these guys five days ago, that’s pretty impressive. It tells you what kind of arm and arsenal he has.”

Soriano regularly hit 100 mph with his fastball. Combined with his slider and knuckle curve, Soriano has a repertoire the Angels wanted to see as a starter. One of the reasons they had him begin the year as a major league reliever, was to mange his innings. Now that Chase Silseth’s injury forced Soriano into the rotation in April, the Angels might face a decision at some point on whether to slow down Soriano.

“We’re going to deal with that when we get there,” Minasian said.

NEWS COMING

The Angels still have not announced what they learned from the examinations, by multiple doctors, of right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson’s elbow.

“Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have something,” Minasian said on Wednesday.

Stephenson missed most of spring training with a sore shoulder, but he felt an elbow issue four pitches into his first rehab outing at Triple-A on Saturday.

If there turns out to be a serious problem with his elbow, it would be a difficult blow for this year’s bullpen, but with a potential silver lining in the long term. The Angels put a clause in Stephenson’s three-year, $33 million deal that gives them an option for a fourth year at just $2.5 million, if Stephenson misses 130 consecutive days on the injured list with an elbow injury. It is essentially insurance against Tommy John surgery.

The Angels would not have to decide whether they’re picking up that option until after the 2026 season.

NOTES

Right-hander Andrew Wantz came out of his start on Tuesday at Triple-A because of “forearm soreness,” Minasian said. Although Minasian said “I think it’s going to be fine,” they are nonetheless having Wantz examined. …

Infielder Brandon Drury, who has been slowed with hamstring tightness, was out of the lineup for a second straight day. Washington said Drury would not start at Tropicana Field because of the turf, returning to the lineup on Friday in Cincinnati. Washington said Drury was available to hit, and he would be removed for a pinch-runner if he reached base. …

The Angels signed right-hander Bryan Shaw to a minor league deal. Shaw, who started the season with the Chicago White Sox, would make a pro-rated portion of $1.1 million if he reaches the majors. Shaw, 36, has pitched parts of 14 seasons in the majors, with a 4.14 ERA in 38 games last season with the White Sox.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 0-2, 9.88 ERA) at Rays (RHP Ryan Pepiot, 1-2, 5.40), Thursday, 10:10 a.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In the first 16 games of the season, the Angels did not have a single blown save.

Then they did it four times in five innings on Tuesday night.

The Angels gave up leads in the ninth, 10th, 11th and 13th innings of a gut-wrenching 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Angels relievers inherited a 3-1 lead in the sixth and then retired all 11 hitters they faced, just one away from victory, when it got away. Closer Carlos Estévez gave up an infield single, a ground ball single and then a two-run triple to José Caballero, tying the score.

After that, the Angels pushed home their automatic runner in three of the next four innings, but they couldn’t stop the Rays.

Right-hander Carson Fulmer, who was pitching three days after throwing 63 pitches on Saturday, had worked a scoreless 12th and he was one out away from escaping the 13th with a victory.

He couldn’t get the final out, with the Richie Palacios singling into center field to knock in the tying run. After an intentional and an unintentional walk, Amed Rosario beat out an infield hit as the winning run scored.

Before the late bullpen fiasco, the story of the game for the Angels was José Soriano, who was in line for his first victory as a starter.

Soriano gave up one run in five innings, striking out six and walking five. He pushed through occasional control issues to get to 90 pitches for the first time since June 2, 2019, which was two Tommy John surgeries ago.

Soriano had been moved to the bullpen by the time he reached the majors in 2023, but this spring the Angels decided his 101 mph fastball and sharp breaking balls made for too good of an arsenal to waste in the bullpen.

He started in spring training, and his opportunity to start in the majors arrived last week, with Chase Silseth’s elbow injury. Soriano threw four innings on 72 pitches of a loss against the Rays last week at home.

This time he was better. He didn’t give up a hit or a run until the fourth. By then the Angels had given him a three-run lead in the top of the inning, when Mickey Moniak hit a two-run homer and Logan O’Hoppe followed with a solo shot.

Soriano took the mound in the fifth with 66 pitches, leading 3-1. He struck out the first two hitters of the inning on nine pitches, and he only needed to get through the No. 9 hitter to finish his work for the night. Soriano walked him, though.

That brought Manager Ron Washington to the mound for a pep talk. The top of the Rays’ order – All-Stars Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena – were due for a third look at Soriano.

Soriano walked Diaz with his 84th pitch. He battled Arozarena to a full count, finally getting him looking at a knuckle curve that was called strike three. Soriano pumped his fist as he walked off the mound.

More to come on this story.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s a fine line that a major league team must walk with a struggling young player. The team wants to show confidence in the player, but not allow him to fail so much that he loses confidence in himself.

Angels manager Ron Washington said the team is still on the right side of the line with Nolan Schanuel.

“I have no problem constantly running him out there and letting him try to figure it out,” Washington said of his rookie first baseman. “I haven’t seen where he has disbelief that he can do something. I see it’s not happening. I see him handling that it’s not happening. I don’t see him handling it in a panic way.”

Schanuel, 22, is less than a year removed from playing in college. He rocketed to the majors barely a month after he was drafted last summer, and he hit .275 with a .732 OPS in 29 games last season, which earned him the Angels’ first base job heading into 2024.

But Schanuel has started off this season hitting .095 with a .431 OPS. He was not in the lineup on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, but Washington said that was more because he wanted to get Miguel Sanó in after he swung the bat well the night before. Schanuel will play again on Wednesday, Washington said.

“Once he gets out of his way, and starts understanding that he can and believing that he can, I think he’ll take off, because he can hit,” Washington said. “In this game, everybody goes through struggles. And his just happens to be right now at the beginning of the year.”

Washington would like to see Schanuel be more aggressive. Last year he swung at 63% of pitches in the zone, which is slightly below the major league average of 66%. This season, though, Schanuel has swung at 48% of pitches in the zone.

Washington said the way to get the message to Schanuel is by “constantly repeating it over and over and over. That’s it. He’s the one who has to go out there and do it.”

DRURY OUT

Infielder Brandon Drury was not in the lineup on Tuesday because of some tightness in his left hamstring. Drury said he started to feel it over the weekend in Boston, and it got worse during Monday’s game against the Rays.

Drury did some light running on Tuesday afternoon and said he was available to play.

“We aren’t taking any chances on this turf,” Washington said. “You could be sore on this turf and you keep trying to work on this turf, it’s gonna get worse. … We’re only in April. I certainly wouldn’t want him to run out there and make something worse and then we lose him for May.”

CLOSER USE

Right-hander Carlos Estévez was warming up to pitch the ninth inning with the Angels holding a two-run lead on Monday night. Taylor Ward then hit a two-run homer to double the lead, removing the save situation.

Washington said he still used Estévez because he didn’t want to take any chances. The Rays had trailed by four in the top of the eighth and scored two in the bottom of the inning.

“They weren’t through, and you can never think that they’re through,” Washington said. “I was bringing in my closer to shut that down. I don’t care if it was a chance to get a save or not. I’m shutting it down. Period.”

Washington said in some circumstances he might go to another reliever once the lead gets to four runs, though.

“I’m not saying I’m going to do that every time, but if I feel like I need to squash momentum, I’m doing it,” he said.

NOTES

The Angels are still collecting information on right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson, who underwent tests on Monday after feeling some discomfort in his elbow during his rehab outing on Saturday night. …

Barring any changes to the rotation, the Angels are going to play their next five games with a starter pitching on exactly four days of rest. It will be the first time since July 25-29, 2018 that the Angels used a starter on four days of rest in five consecutive games. They used some version of a six-man rotation for most of the past six years because of two-way star Shohei Ohtani. Up until now, they’ve had off days that allowed the starters to have at least five days of rest, even with a five-man rotation.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-0, 1.04 ERA) at Rays (RHP Zack Littell, 1-0, 1.17), Wednesday, 3:50 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A day after Mike Trout lamented his performance with runners in scoring position, he delivered his biggest hit of the young season.

Trout belted an eighth-inning two-run homer to give the Angels the lead on their way to a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

It was Trout’s seventh homer of the season (and the 375th of his career), but only the second that wasn’t a solo shot. He’s only driven in 10 runs, despite driving himself in seven times. Trout had been 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position before the homer.

On Sunday in Boston, the Angels had a promising rally in the ninth inning, but Trout struck out to end the game, leaving the potential tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second.

This time, the Angels had done little offensively for the first seven innings. Their best opportunity was in the seventh, but Mickey Moniak hit into a bases-loaded double play.

They still trailed 1-0 in the eighth, when Anthony Rendon singled with one out. After Rendon went to second on a passed ball, Trout got a 2-and-1 curveball from Phil Maton, and he hammered it 420 feet to left field.

It opened the floodgates. Taylor Ward and Miguel Sanó then singled and Brandon Drury walked, loading the bases. Matt Thaiss drove in all three with a double into right field.

The Angels (8-8) needed the insurance, because left-hander Matt Moore gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. Ward hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to get those runs back before Carlos Estévez recorded the final three outs.

Starter Patrick Sandoval did not last long enough to get the win, but he nonetheless had an encouraging performance, allowing one run in five innings.

Sandoval did not give up a hit until the fourth. In the fifth, he got into and out of a jam. He gave up back-to-back singles and then he issued a walk, loading the bases with no outs.

Although Sandoval was at 82 pitches and about to see the Rays order for the third time, Manager Ron Washington stuck with him.

Sandoval induced ground balls from each of the top three hitters,  pushing home only one run and avoiding a big inning.

More to come on this story.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Slumping players often point to hard-hit balls to the opposite field as evidence that the slump is nearing an end.

The Angels and Brandon Drury are hoping that his home run to right field on Sunday in Boston is just that type of moment.

“That means I’m letting the ball travel,” Drury said on Monday. “Being able to hit the ball hard oppo like that gives me room for error on offspeed, so I would say that’s a good sign. … I was working on something in the cage before the game. To go out and see instant results is nice.”

Drury’s first homer of the season left the bat at 106.8 mph and went over the fence in straightaway right. He added an infield hit later in the game, providing a glimmer of hope after his slow start.

Drury came into Monday’s game hitting .196 with a .543 OPS.

“Obviously it’s a very slow start, but I do feel like I’m getting better and continuing to work,” Drury said. “Trying to get a little better each day.”

A Silver Slugger winner in 2022, Drury started last season slowly too. He was hitting .179 with a .477 OPS through his first 72 plate appearances over 20 games.

Over his next 33 games he had a .975 OPS with nine homers, on his way to an .803 OPS and 26 homers by the end of the season.

“Starting slow is obviously not ideal, but I’ve been playing for a decent time, so I know there are so many games left,” Drury said. “You just can’t let it affect you. You just go to the next game and the next game and the next game.”

LINEUP SHUFFLE

Manager Ron Washington moved Mike Trout and Taylor Ward from the third and fourth spots in the lineup to the second and third spots for Monday’s game.

“Just trying to shake things up,” Washington said. “I’m trying to see how I can get some offense. It hurt me to pull my fourth hitter from the fourth spot and put him in third, but I’m just trying to get something going. We’re not really hitting on all cylinders the way we’d like to be hitting.”

Trout, who had an OPS of 1.044, and Ward (.909) have been two of the hottest hitters throughout the first 15 games.

Leadoff man Anthony Rendon has been better lately, with a .364 average and an .845 OPS over his last eight games.

Nolan Schanuel was Washington’s first choice to hit second because of his ability to manipulate the bat, but Schanuel has started slowly.

TESTS FOR STEPHENSON

Right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson underwent tests on his elbow on Monday. The Angels still have not received the results.

It’s noteworthy that his elbow was the issue that caused him to come out of his rehab appearance on Saturday, because he had been on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

“He was a big piece we were looking forward to having,” Washington said. “Now we’ve just got to wait and see how long it takes him to come back.”

The Angels signed Stephenson to a three-year, $33 million deal in January. His contract contains a clause that gives the Angels the right to add a $2.5 million team option in 2027 if he misses significant time with an elbow injury.

REMEMBERING JACKIE

Washington said Jackie Robinson Day has a special meaning for him as a Black man who played and managed in the major leagues.

“I don’t think I’ll be sitting here managing and talking to you guys if it wasn’t for Jackie Robinson breaking that barrier,” Washington said before Monday’s game, when all players across MLB wore No. 42 to honor Robinson. “Class act. I don’t think when I look at his story that I could have endured what he went through.

“I’m happy for what he did for the game of baseball and for the Black baseball players and the minorities, period, in the game. But I don’t know if I could have done it. Watch that story and it was tough what he had to go through, but he withstood it, and his withstanding it gave me and other minorities an opportunity to move up in the game of baseball.”

NOTES

Right-hander Chase Silseth (elbow inflammation) has voiced “gradual improvement,” according to the Angels’ medical report. He will not resume throwing until he has no symptoms. …

Infielder Michael Stefanic (left quadriceps strain) “felt some mild tightness” during fielding drills over the weekend. Stefanic is still rehabbing in Arizona.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0-2, 6.30 ERA) at Rays (RHP Aaron Civale, 2-1, 2.12), Tuesday, 3:50 p.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 830 AM

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BOSTON — Ron Washington said on Sunday morning that the Angels offense has been missing “that one big hit at the right time.”

They’re still waiting.

The Angels lost, 5-4, to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, despite having numerous opportunities at the type of big inning they need.

The Angels put their leadoff man on six times, but they never produced a multi-run inning.

Down by two in the ninth inning against closer Kenley Jansen, the Angels loaded the bases with no outs. Anthony Rendon drove in one run with a sacrifice fly. Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout then struck out, leaving the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at second. Red Sox manager Alex Cora opted to pitch to Trout, even with first base open.

Twice the Angels hit into double plays, including Brandon Drury on the first pitch he saw when the Angels had runners on the corners and one out in the sixth.

At that moment, the Angels trailed by a run. The deficit grew to three runs quickly, when left-hander José Suarez issued a leadoff walk and then gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

The Angels (7-8) lost their third straight series, and four of the past five games. While they put together an impressive full-team effort to win on Friday, they couldn’t do enough to win the series.

This time they sent left-hander Tyler Anderson to the mound with a 14-inning scoreless streak to begin the season.

That streak ended emphatically when he threw Tyler O’Neill a first-inning fastball over the middle of the plate. O’Neill drilled it over the Green Monster.

A few pitches later, Anderson left another pitch over the middle to Triston Casas, who also homered.

From there he settled down, tacking on three more scoreless innings. The Red Sox got his pitch count up, though, so he didn’t make it through the fifth. He was pulled after allowing a third run on his 93rd pitch.

The Angels couldn’t take him off the hook for the loss because the only runs they managed were a Drury homer in the second — his first of the season — and a run on a Rengifo groundout in the third.

After Rengifo’s grounder tied the game, Trout drew a walk, putting two on with one out. Taylor Ward, who leads the team in RBIs, struck out, as did Aaron Hicks.

Rengifo came up with two on and two outs in the seventh, but he grounded out, leaving Trout in the on-deck circle.

Trout then tripled to lead off the eighth, scoring on a grounder to cut the deficit to two runs.

This story will be updated.

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BOSTON — The Angels had high hopes of getting Robert Stephenson back in their bullpen soon, but now that’s on hold.

Stephenson left his first rehab outing after throwing just four pitches on Saturday night. The pitches were 96-98 mph, but all four were out of the strike zone. Stephenson then called for an athletic trainer and he was removed from the game.

“We’re going to get him examined,” manager Ron Washington said on Sunday morning. “I don’t have any more than that.”

The Angels signed Stephenson to a three-year, $33-million deal over the winter. He suffered a shoulder injury before pitching in any spring training games. An MRI exam revealed only inflammation, so Stephenson was progressing well toward a return by the end of April. He faced hitters earlier this week in Anaheim, before being sent to pitch at least two games for Triple-A Salt Lake.

“The way he was throwing the baseball before he went on rehab was electric,” Washington said. “You just wanted him in your bullpen. And then something like that happens. But until we know what it is, I’m not going to speculate.”

Without Stephenson, the Angels bullpen has still been able to hold every lead they’ve been given. The rough outings have been in games the Angels were already losing.

When Stephenson returns, he figures to join left-hander Matt Moore as the two primary setup men for closer Carlos Estévez.

Not good…#Angels RP Robert Stephenson issues a 4-pitch walk, then calls out the trainer, and leaves the game in his first rehab apprarance pic.twitter.com/Ws6hEEiLRC

— AngelsMiLB (@AngelsMiLB) April 14, 2024

 

IMPROVED

First baseman Nolan Schanuel said he was feeling “better” a day after leaving the game with a testicular contusion, the result of a foul ball.

Schanuel participated in defensive and agility drills on Sunday morning. Washington said he was available to play on Sunday, and he would “be back in the lineup” on Monday.

NOTES

The Angels’ next homer will be the 9,000th homer in franchise history. …

Taylor Ward’s 16 RBIs are the most for any Angels player through 14 team games since Tim Salmon had 17 RBI in the Angels’ first 14 games in 1999.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Patrick Sandoval, 1-2, 6.57) vs. Rays (TBD) at Tropicana Field, 3:50 p.m. PT Monday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.

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