Los Angeles manager Ron Washington will look for ways to spark his team’s offense when the Angels host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the finale of a three-game series Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Following their 3-0 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday, the Angels have just 19 runs in their past nine games (2-7). Washington moved Jorge Soler from the cleanup spot to the lead-off position on Wednesday in order to change things up, but the larger issue in the manager’s mind is the home-run ball.
Not that the Angels are lacking in power. In fact, Washington would prefer a little less emphasis on the long ball.
The Angels hit 30 home runs in their first 15 games, ranking behind only the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers at the time. In particular, the Angels hit 11 home runs in a three-game series in Tampa from April 8-10 at Steinbrenner Field, the temporary home of the Rays.
The short porch enticed Angels hitters, but Washington expressed the need for his hitters to maintain a more balanced approach at the plate.
“I did say in Tampa that I don’t want to be a home-run-hitting team,” Washington said. “We’ve got guys that can hit the ball out the ballpark, but I don’t want to be a home-run-hitting team. I just want to be a team that can continue to pass the baton to the next guy.”
In the first two games of the series with the Pirates, the Angels have failed to put the leadoff hitter on base in any of the 18 innings. Still, Washington didn’t want to put all the blame on the approach of his hitters, giving credit to opposing pitchers.
“Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the other team,” Washington said. “… Again, we are in the first month. We have to make some adjustments, and I think we will make those adjustments.”
Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.08 ERA) will be on the mound Thursday. In his two most recent appearances, victories over the Houston Astros on April 12 and the San Francisco Giants on Friday, Anderson threw 11 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just four hits.
Anderson is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA in two career starts against PIttsburgh.
Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (1-3, 7.41) will make his fifth start of the season for Pittsburgh. He got knocked around by the Cleveland Guardians in his most recent start last Friday, giving up five runs and nine hits in four innings of a 10-7 loss.
Mlodzinski has made one career appearance against the Angels, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief in 2023.
The Pirates are encouraged by the start of first baseman Enmanuel Valdez, who went 1-for-3 in Wednesday’s game.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Boston Red Sox, Valdez is hitting .222 with six extra-base hits, nine RBIs and an OPS of .740. The Pirates, though, are happy with the adjustments he’s making.
“In Boston last year, I tried to do too much with my hands,” Valdez said. “Here, I’m trying to calm my hands and make more contact.”
Eventually, according to the Pirates, those hard-hit balls will find holes.
“When we look at the numbers, (we) feel like his surface performance is below what we expected it to be,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He’s hit into some bad luck. So (we) feel like he’s given us really good at-bats in particular against righties, his defense has been solid. So that’s been great. He’s stepped up and taken advantage of an opportunity.”
–Field Level Media
