Angels News

"In his past two starts, Jon Garland seems to have recaptured his form from the 2005 American League Championship Series. Unfortunately, so did the Angels' offense Friday night. The Angels were held to one hit by right-hander James Shields (Hart High of Newhall) and lost 2-0 when Evan Longoria broke up the scoreless duel with a two-run home run off Angels reliever Justin Speier in the bottom of the ninth. "

"Joe Saunders is off to one of the fastest starts in Angels history. But the left-hander, who takes a 6-0 season mark and 21-8 lifetime record to the mound tonight, isn't letting history distract him. "I'm not worried about streaks or anything like that," he said Friday. "I'm just worrying about going out there and putting a 'W' up for my team.""

"The Angels' clubhouse was empty by the time Torii Hunter got out of the shower, making a long night a little bit longer. It was a night when Hunter saw 13 pitches from Tampa Bay's James Shields, yet managed to hit only one -- grounding it all the way to the shortstop. And that almost qualified as a rally. In fact, among the Angels, only Brandon Wood did better, with his third-inning bouncer up the middle the only thing that stood between Shields and a no-hitter in a 2-0 Rays win decided on rookie Evan Longoria's one-out walk-off home run in the ninth."

"It was hard to pick the hero from Friday's 2-0 win over the Angels. There was Rays starter James Shields, who delivered the best performance of his big-league career with a complete-game one-hitter, his second shutout in his past three outings... But in the ninth, it was rookie Evan Longoria who stole the spotlight. He shook off a recent slump to hit a walk-off, two-run homer that brought the crowd of 12,039 to its feet and lift the Rays (19-16) to a win over one of the American League's best teams (22-15), starting a seven-game homestand with a bang."

"The celebratory scrum at Tropicana Field slid like a single, living entity from home plate to the pitcher's mound, with rookie Evan Longoria lost in a joyful heap of bouncing Rays. At some point during the mayhem, Longoria - whose two-run homer off Angels reliever Justin Speier had just given Tampa Bay a 2-0, walk-off victory - found Rays pitcher James Shields and wrapped him in a bear hug."

"Every gameday, Vladimir Guerrero walks into the Angels' clubhouse, home or road, and changes into a blue T-shirt with a big Superman logo on the front. Many days, he then goes out on the field and performs like a superhero. But so far this season, Guerrero has hit more like Clark Kent than the Man of Steel. Going into this weekend's series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Guerrero is hitting .266 with an earth-bound .422 slugging percentage, three home runs and 15 RBIs. "

"And that's when he decided the rocking chair would have to wait, choosing instead to anchor the bullpen and the clubhouse for the Tampa Bay Rays. So far neither side has been disappointed, with Percival holding opponents scoreless in 11 of his 12 appearances and notching seven saves to keep the surprising Rays in the thick of the American League East race heading into this weekend's three-game series with the Angels. "It's really been an unbelievable turn of events for Troy. And we couldn't be happier for him," said Angels Manager Mike Scioscia..."

"What's more prestigious, a World Series ring or an Olympic gold medal? It's more than just an idle question around the house of Angels pitcher Jon Garland, who will start tonight's series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's because Garland won a ring with the 2005 Chicago White Sox, a year after longtime girlfriend Lovieanne Jung won a gold medal in softball at the Athens Games. "I personally feel winning the World Series is tougher," Garland said. "Only because there's more teams and the competition's better." Jung, not surprisingly, disagrees."

"So this is what it looks like when just about everything clicks for the Royals. They matched a season high in hits. They matched a season high in runs. And they got another solid performance by Zack Greinke. It all combined for a 9-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels that enabled the Royals to avoid a three-game sweep Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium."

"Howie Kendrick took his .500 average (18 for 36) to the disabled list more than three weeks ago and came out hitting, going 5 for 6 in the first two games of his minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga this week. But he won't be bringing his hot bat back to the Angels' lineup until next week at the earliest. Kendrick still "felt a bit of tightness" in his strained left hamstring as Tuesday's game went on, according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "

"Not even the Kansas City Royals' 8,900-square foot, $8.3 million, 17-people-to-operate, see-it-from-space, high-definition scoreboard could make Jered Weaver's pitching look good Wednesday. Weaver was bounced around by one of the worst offensive teams in the majors, giving up as many hits (10) as he retired batters in his worst start of the season, a 9-4 loss to the Royals. "

"Howie Kendrick's return to the Angels' lineup was pushed back for the second time in four days Wednesday when his tender left hamstring failed to respond favorably following a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Kendrick, out since April 14, was expected to fly with the team to Kansas City on Sunday but was left behind when he reported some soreness after his first game with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He left Rancho Cucamonga's game after seven innings Tuesday."

"The forecast called for rain, heavy at times, throughout the Kansas City area Wednesday. Aside from a pregame drizzle, however, the rains never came. Which was unfortunate for the Angels and pitcher Jered Weaver, who clearly would have preferred a washout to the 9-4 blowout the Royals handed them at Kauffman Stadium."

"Well, this was different. No better, but different. The Royals goosed their run-starved attack for an early lead Tuesday night before Brian Bannister gave it all back and more in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. It came down to this: Bannister couldn’t retire Garret Anderson in RBI situations. Anderson hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and delivered two-out RBI singles in the fifth and seventh."

"Garret Anderson seems to have solved the riddle of his early-season slump. But he is not sharing the answer. "I'd like to say, but it'd be hard to explain," the Angels veteran outfielder said after driving in five runs with three hits Tuesday, including his second home run in as many games. "You wouldn't understand. There was an adjustment." Whatever that adjustment was, Anderson said it didn't involve any technical change to his swing or stance but was something "very personal" which he wouldn't specify. "

"Thirty-five games into the season, the Angels are shorthanded, riddled with injuries and have key players in slumps. And cruising. Garret Anderson broke out of his slump to drive in all five runs as the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3, Tuesday night. Their season-high fourth consecutive victory gives the Angels a 22-13 record, tied with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in the American League. That includes a 12-5 record on the road, the best in the majors. And they are one win away from matching the best starts in franchise history (23-12 in 2004 and 1970). "

"Vladimir Guerrero showed signs of breaking out of a 10-day slump in which his average fell 39 points, doubling and tripling in Tuesday's win over the Royals. "I think No. 27 might be finding his way back," reliever Scot Shields said. Since collecting his 2,000th hit in Detroit on April 26, Guerrero had managed just four singles in 26 at-bats -- a .154 average -- before he tripled off the center-field wall in the first inning Tuesday. Guerrero later doubled, walked and scored two runs. He also lost a hit and a run batted in when second baseman Mark Grudzielanek speared his line drive up the middle in the eighth."

"Say what you want about the benefits of home cooking, but the Angels apparently prefer room service. Because be it ever so humble, there seems to be no place like the road for the team this season. "Maybe it's because these guys got families. Everybody gets their sleep on the road," said reliever Darren Oliver, searching for an explanation. "Who knows? It works for me." And for his teammates too, who rode a five-RBI night from Garret Anderson and a gutsy five-out performance from Oliver to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday, running the Angels' road record to a baseball-best 12-5 and extending their season-best winning streak to four."

"Good pitching only takes you so far. The Royals wasted Brett Tomko’s seven shutout innings Monday night in a 4-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. The bullpen coughed up all four runs in the ninth inning. That was a problem, of course. But the bigger concern is this was another punchless effort. Another night of wondering why this team can’t score. And another night with no answers."

"Saunders and Santana - and maybe rain manana? It has the alliteration if not the catchiness of the famous Spahn-and-Sain couplet. But, this dynamic duo has been as reliable as the Southern California weather this season. Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana remain historically unbeaten after Santana upped the ante with the best performance yet in his season of rebirth, holding the Kansas City Royals to four hits in a complete-game shutout and waiting for the Angels to rally in the ninth inning for a 4-0 victory Monday night. "

"At some point, the Angels might need to give Brandon Wood an extended block of playing time at the major-league level to find out just what they have in their perennial prospect. But that time is not now, according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia. Injuries to infielders Howie Kendrick, Maicer Izturis and Chone Figgins has thinned the Angels' roster and opened a vacancy at third base. Reserve Robb Quinlan has started both games at third since Figgins was injured Saturday, with Wood entering both games as a late-innings defensive replacement. "

"But Scioscia refuses to blame the slump on the spate of injuries that has already forced him to use a league-high 18 position players through 34 games. "You have to deal with what happens," he said. "I don't know if you can point to a continuity thing where guys have been in and out of the lineup. Some guys just haven't hit their stride offensively. "And until that happens, the framework of the lineup isn't really going to materialize.""

"Take Monday, for instance. Pitching in a stadium where he'd never won against a team he hadn't beaten in two seasons, Santana responded with a dazzling four-hit shutout to beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-0, running his record to 6-0 and dropping his earned-run average to 2.02."

"The Angels reached into Salt Lake City for another Bee over the weekend. Obviously they aren't allergic. This time it was Sean Rodriguez, waiting "in the hole" to bat after the on-deck man did. He started getting these frantic hand signals from Bobby Mitchell, the manager of the Triple-A Bees, and he packed hurriedly and got to the airport. On Sunday morning he walked into the Angels clubhouse, where the first thing you see is a bulletin board. The most prominent bulletin is the lineup card. Rodriguez was on there, batting ninth."

" Angels ace John Lackey pitched four innings Sunday and Howie Kendrick went 2 for 3 as the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes beat visiting Lancaster, 3-2. Lackey, on the disabled list with a strained right triceps, struck out four and allowed two runs. He has a 4.00 ERA in three Cal League starts. Kendrick, on the DL with a left hamstring injury, was replaced with a pinch runner in the fifth. "

"Trachsel had another miserable outing, surrendering six runs and three home runs in three-plus innings. That, and a few base-running mistakes, sunk the Orioles in a 6-5 loss in front of an announced 39,273 at Angel Stadium."

"The Angels moved a player to the 15-day disabled list Sunday, but it wasn't infielder Chone Figgins. Figgins hurt his right hamstring in Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, but it was right-handed pitcher Dustin Moseley who landed on the disabled list with stiffness in his right forearm. The move is retroactive to May 2. "

" Pitcher Joe Saunders carried the Angels the best he could during the first few weeks of the season. Sunday afternoon was the time for his teammates to return the favor. Saunders turned in his worst start of the season, allowing four runs and 12 hits in five innings, but the rest of the Angels picked him up and carried him to his sixth victory of the season. Gary Matthews Jr., Torii Hunter and Robb Quinlan hit home runs, and catcher Jeff Mathis threw out two would-be basestealers as the Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, at Angel Stadium. "

"Chone Figgins avoided the 15-day disabled list Sunday, an MRI test on the infielder's right hamstring showing a mild strain, but pitcher Dustin Moseley did not. The right-hander, who underwent ligament relocation surgery last October, was placed on the DL because of tightness in his forearm and was replaced on the roster by infielder Sean Rodriguez, who was recalled from triple-A Salt Lake."

"Saunders survived his worst start of the season; Gary Matthews Jr., Torii Hunter and Robb Quinlan clubbed home runs; the Orioles committed a pair of baserunning gaffes to thwart two rallies; and the Angels' bullpen held on for a 6-5 victory in Angel Stadium."

"But none of it was enough to overcome pitcher Steve Trachsel's latest debacle -- a three-homer, six-run, seven-hit mess -- that turned a breakout game into a 6-5 loss for the Orioles before 39,273 at Angel Stadium."

"This is what Trevor Bell always wanted. To spring off the mound, all instinct, all athlete, like a cat, and snatch a line drive hurtling overhead off its course, getting out of the inning in the process. To peer down at the catcher, shake him off once, twice, and blow a fastball past some Stockton Ports prospect. To receive hearty cheers from the near-capacity crowd on a recent Saturday night at the Epicenter, including the nearly 40 family and friends scattered between Sections 8 and 12, happy to have driven just 45 minutes from his hometown of La Crescenta."

"The thought crossed Orioles manager Dave Trembley's mind early in yesterday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. "The way [Jon] Garland was pitching, it looked like our best hope was to win the game 1-0," Trembley said. It's becoming an all-too-familiar feeling for the Orioles, who continue to waste solid outings by their starting pitchers because of a slumping offense, which struggles to string together hits, never mind runs. Trying to protect a one-run lead, Daniel Cabrera finally cracked in the sixth inning, and the Orioles fell, 3-1, in front of an announced 37,601 at sun-drenched Angel Stadium."

"Second base has become a danger zone for the Angels. Chone Figgins became their third second baseman to go down with an injury in the past three weeks when he left Saturday's game in the eighth inning with an apparent right hamstring injury. Figgins left the game after scoring from third on a ground ball to second base, eluding the tag of Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez with a wide slide and slapping his hand on the plate. "

"'What's wrong with Andruw Jones?" an Angels outfielder asked the other day. It was the same question many of us have been asking this young baseball season. But coming from Torii Hunter, it was a question weighted with a certain kind of ironic significance. That's because right now, for better or worse, Hunter and Jones are linked at the hip. After forging reputations as hard-hitting, sure-gloved center fielders, both now play in Southern California."

"Ervin Santana had just won, again. Joe Saunders walked past him in the Angels clubhouse, enjoying an ice cream bar. Santana teased Saunders about his selection of health food. Saunders shot back with a mischievous grin, suggesting Santana could stand to ingest a few thousand calories. If Saunders had seen Santana eight years ago, he might have taken him on an emergency run to In-N-Out. Santana, then a teenager, had come from the Dominican Republic to Anaheim for a tryout."

"What helped kill the Angels in October 2005 made them stronger Saturday, as Jon Garland rebounded from an erratic opening month with his new team to throw eight superb innings in a 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium."

"For the second straight game, Baltimore Orioles Manager Dave Trembley used a newly shuffled lineup in hopes of sparking some life from his team's struggling offense. But on Saturday afternoon, the Orioles appeared beyond help. Jon Garland surrendered just one run in eight innings -- facing only two more hitters than the minimum -- to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-1 victory over the Orioles at Angel Stadium."

"The Angels optioned Willits to Triple-A Salt Lake on April 16 because they needed depth in their bullpen, and because the Angels realized that he needed some at-bats to stay sharp. Though the move made sense, it didn't make Willits' demotion easier to accept. "Any time you're sent down, it's disappointing," he told a Salt Lake Tribune reporter shortly after returning to the minors. The move ended up benefiting Willits. He batted .378 in 10 games, with an on-base percentage of .452, while playing for a team that went 23-2 in April."

"It would be hard to blame Jered Weaver if he woke up this morning, still seething over his outing Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles. Facing a team he has dominated in his brief career, Weaver offered a decent outing this time around, but left with a bad taste in his mouth. The Angels' offense finally made things interesting in the ninth inning, but fell a run short with the bases loaded in a 4-3 defeat. And so goes Weaver's season. "

"The batting average (.229) and on-base percentage (.320) seem too low, and the strikeouts (27), runs batted in (team-high 20) and home runs (four) seem a little high for a two-hole hitter. But Manager Mike Scioscia said Gary Matthews Jr. will remain in that spot, and that table-setting outfielder Reggie Willits' recall from triple-A Salt Lake and insertion into the second spot Friday night against Baltimore is not a permanent lineup switch."

"Vladimir Guerrero, who collected his 2,000th hit in Detroit last Saturday, reached another milestone of sorts Friday night, but there were no comparisons to some of the game's all-time greats, and no one called for the game ball. The Angels slugger went hitless in four at-bats in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Angel Stadium, and for the first time in his illustrious 12-year career, Guerrero has gone five straight starts without a hit."

"Casey Kotchman might play at first base, but he isn't necessarily at the top of the list when it comes to the offensive production expected from a corner infielder... Want 30 or 40 or even 50 home runs from somebody? A corner infielder or an outfielder usually are the guys. But the Angels continue to turn that axiom on its ear. Kotchman tends to drive the ball to the gaps more than bomb it over the fences. "

"Jeremy Guthrie had seen this before and decided that he wasn't going to put himself through the agony again. So with a two-run lead and the pitcher's first win since July 27 of last year in the hands of the Orioles bullpen, Guthrie ducked in the training room last night and asked that the televisions in the room be turned off... He missed a pulsating ninth inning that ended with the result Guthrie has long been seeking, a 4-3 Orioles' victory over the Los Angeles Angels before 41,515 at Angel Stadium. "

"Jack Cust's night appeared to take a miserable turn when he committed an error for the ages in the second inning Thursday night. Then he and his teammates spent the rest of the game heaping misery on the Los Angeles Angels' pitching staff. Cust's fifth-inning homer and 4-for-4 night don't nearly tell the whole story of the A's 15-8 rout at Angel Stadium. But his evening of redemption is as good a place to start as any."

" Nick Adenhart's second-inning control difficulties in his major-league debut seemed a world away by the end of the A's 15-8 romp here Thursday night. The Angels right-hander didn't even factor in the decision, thanks to Jack Cust's dropped flyball in left in the bottom of the second, but Cust's error didn't wind up hurting Oakland in the slightest. And it's not often you can say that about an error that leads to five runs."

"Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher had a pretty simple message for Nick Adenhart when the much-ballyhooed prospect arrived in the big leagues. "Enjoy yourself," Butcher said he told Adenhart when the two met Thursday morning. "You don't need to change anything. Pitch your game." One thing the two did not talk about, Butcher said, was how long Adenhart's tenure in the Angels' starting rotation will last. "

"Nick Adenhart's future might be so bright he's gotta wear shades. But his big-league debut Thursday just made you want to turn your head and look away. The Angels' top prospect barely made it into the third inning before manager Mike Scioscia decided he had seen enough, pulling Adenhart from an eventual 15-8 beating by the Oakland A's."

"May Day is upon us, and it's looking good for the local teams. The Angels are 18-11, the best record in the American League. They're bound to encounter some adversity, of course. They could lose their top two starting pitchers and two second basemen to injury -- oh, wait, that already has happened... The Dodgers are 15-13, with a six-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the major leagues. They spent the first part of April begging for runs, then averaged seven runs in their last nine games. "

"Howie Kendrick hoped to start a brief minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night, but instead, the second baseman remained in Anaheim, his strained left hamstring not healed to the point where he can return to action. "He's trying to get over that last little hump," Manager Mike Scioscia said of Kendrick, who has been on the disabled list since April 14. "Until he does, we don't think it's a good idea for him to go out and play. He'll work out, and we'll see how he feels [today].""