Clips (May 15, 2015)

May 15, 2015 Page 1 of 16 Clips (May 15, 2015)

May 15, 2015 Page 2 of 16 Today s Clips Contents FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3) The 'wow' factor is still big part of Mike Trout's play with Angels FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 4) Angels' Mike Trout strikes out less by swinging more Top pitching prospect Sean Newcomb promoted to Inland Empire On deck: Angels at Orioles, Friday, 4 p.m. FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 7) By controlling zone, Angels can control stats Angels give Newcomb Class A promotion FROM FOX SPORTS (Page 10) Mailbag: Trout levels off, backing Ken Burns and Duffy s Regression Angels' Dipoto believes in the 'value' of the closer FROM THE LA DAILY NEWS (Page 11) The Entertainer: Johnny Giavotella has been pleasant surprise for Angels FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 12) Angels-Orioles Preview FROM MASN SPORTS (Page 14) Opposite dugout: Even with Trout, Angels have been dreadful on offense

May 15, 2015 Page 3 of 16 FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES The 'wow' factor is still big part of Mike Trout's play with Angels By Mike DiGiovanna Angels center fielder Mike Trout was not available to discuss his defensive heroics in Wednesday night's game against the Colorado Rockies. By the time the clubhouse opened to the media after a 2-1, 11-inning victory, Trout was gone, off to Los Angeles International Airport for a red-eye flight to the East Coast so he could spend Thursday's off day in his hometown of Millville, N.J. The Angels open a three-game series in Baltimore on Friday. "He got out of here quick," Angels reserve outfielder Collin Cowgill said about 20 minutes after the game. "Knowing him, he's probably on the plane by now. Or he's flying himself, sprouting some wings." Cowgill was joking we think. In his third year as a teammate of Trout, the 2014 American League most valuable player and 2012 and 2013 MVP runner-up, Cowgill has learned that Trout has very few limitations and at times seems otherworldly. "That dude continues to wow us," Cowgill said after Trout robbed Troy Tulowitzki of a home run with a leaping catch above the wall in the top of the 10th inning and threw out Carlos Gonzalez at the plate to end the top of the 11th. The Angels won on Albert Pujols' sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th. "Big moments? He slows them down," Cowgill continued. "When the ball gets around that guy, good things happen, whether he's at the plate or on defense. Those plays don't get his heart pumping. He just slows things down and makes them when the game is on the line." As impressive as Trout's catch of Tulowitzki's shot toward the gap was, his play on Gonzalez was even better, with a higher degree of difficulty. Angels center fielder Mike Trout makes a leaping catch for the final out of the game on an Ike Davis fly ball with the bases loaded on April 30. The Angels beat the Athletics, 6-5. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) With the score tied, 1-1, one out and Gonzalez on third, Daniel Descalso took a full swing but hit a jamshot into shallow center field. The speedy Trout raced in, made a running catch near his shins, took a few steps to gather himself and threw home on the fly to nail Gonzalez, who had tagged up. Gonzalez was initially ruled safe by home-plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, but the call was overturned after a 1- minute, 11-second instant-replay review that showed catcher Carlos Perez had applied the tag before Gonzalez's foot hit the plate. "To field it low, set your feet and throw an absolute strike on the fly to home there are not many guys who can do that," said Cowgill, who was in left field at the time. "It's one of the tougher plays. "With a full swing, it's tough to read, and it's loud, so it's tough to hear. Normally, those balls fall in. But to make that play in that situation, a double play to end the inning and that being the go-ahead run, makes it that much better."

May 15, 2015 Page 4 of 16 Trout's footwork and coordination were keys to the play, but it wouldn't have been possible without his improved throwing arm. The one knock on Trout was that he has an average throwing arm, but not anymore. "His arm has improved a lot," said Angels bench coach Dino Ebel, who oversees the outfielders. "He's working at it, throwing long-toss with Kole [Calhoun] every three or four days, and you can see it coming. "He's confident. He feels it. His arm is much stronger, and his accuracy is better. I said last year, when he comes to spring training and someone says he has a below-average or average arm, he's going to prove you wrong." Trout, who is hitting.289 with nine homers, 19 runs batted in and 27 runs as the Angels embark on a three-city, two-country, 10-game trip, has made several spectacular home run-robbing catches in his career. But he got to the wall so quickly and efficiently and timed his jump so perfectly on Tulowitzki's drive Wednesday night that the play almost looked routine. "That's what Garrett was saying, that he makes it look so easy," Cowgill said, referring to pitcher Garrett Richards. "I feel like it's easy for him. He gets back to the wall so fast and knows where the ball is going to be, and he has an incredible knack for knowing when ball is going to land. "Everyone has an internal clock in baseball, infielders and outfielders. His is just more accurate. People don't get that many chances to rob home runs, and here we are in May, and he has, what, three? Some center fielders go entire seasons without robbing homers. It seems like he does it once a month." Up next Right-hander Jered Weaver (1-4, 4.98 ERA) will oppose Baltimore left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (1-1, 2.52) at Camden Yards on Friday at 4 p.m. PDT. On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 830. FROM THE OC REGISTER Angels' Mike Trout strikes out less by swinging more BY PEDRO MOURA ANAHEIM In approaching the most compelling part of the baseball season, with enough data to see some new trends but not enough to trust everything we see, we can start to ascertain what s real and what s not from the statistics the Angels have produced. Here s a look. MIKE TROUT S DECREASED STRIKEOUTS You have it to hand it to the man. Trout s plan to reduce the strikeouts that piled up to hurt him last season was to swing more often. For most hitters, it d be an awful solution. For the best player in baseball, it s worked.

May 15, 2015 Page 5 of 16 It s not as odd as it sounds. Trout has always seen a lot of pitches, but he led the majors in offerings seen per plate appearance in 2014. Opposing pitchers knew he was unlikely to swing in certain situations, and so they threw strikes more often. This year, Trout has significantly boosted the number of first pitches he swings at (10.6 percent to 18.1 percent), significantly decreased the percentage of called strikes against him (35.9 percent to 26.4 percent), and done it while making more contact (78.1 percent to 80.3 percent.) Part of the contact increase can be explained by his improvement in attacking high-and-inside fastballs. It can also be defined by a simple increase in aggression. Last year, Trout s strikeout rate ranked in the 91st percentile among major-league hitters. So far this year, he s in the 67th percentile. CHRIS IANNETTA S PITCH FRAMING Iannetta has become comfortably above-average at achieving extra strikes for his pitchers after seven years of being terrible at it. With every game he catches, it becomes more apparent that this trend is real. Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto s perspective explains its significance. To do what he's done is kind of remarkable and definitely uncommon, Dipoto said this week. What it does is it just blows a hole in the theory of nature vs. nurture. Clearly, (players) can be nurtured. Chris was not born with this skill. He formed this skill. There are many things in baseball that you can t change. I don t know how much better you can make your arm strength. I don t know that a guy who throws 85 (mph) can ever make himself throw 95. But clearly a guy who has not been a top-of-theleague pitch-framer can turn himself into that through sheer hard work and intelligence. Good for Chris. Good for us. TWO MORE TRENDS Left-hander Hector Santiago s low ERA has been fueled by an unsustainably high 87 percent strand rate, sixth-highest in baseball, meaning not even one of every seven runners to reach base against him have scored. The league average is roughly 72 percent. No one s posted a full-season mark as high as Santiago s since Dwight Gooden in 1985. Albert Pujols performance looks worse than it should because of old-fashioned bad luck, but he s also posting by far the worst hard-hit rate of his career. Just 25.5 percent of the balls he s hit into play have been classified as hard hit by Baseball Info Solutions. His career rate is 36 percent, and it was above 40 percent from 2007-10.

May 15, 2015 Page 6 of 16 Top pitching prospect Sean Newcomb promoted to Inland Empire BY PEDRO MOURA Prized Angels pitching prospect Sean Newcomb has been promoted to Inland Empire and will make his first start for the 66ers on Saturday night. Newcomb, 21, was drafted by the Angels in the first round, No. 15 overall, last year. The 6-foot-5, 245- pound left-hander is ranked the Angels' No. 2 prospect and No. 70 overall by Baseball America. Newcomb was 1-0 with a 1.43 ERA in seven starts for Class-A Burlington. He struck out 45 and walked 19 in 34 1/3 innings with the Bees and held opposing hitters to a.208 batting average. He is expected to join the 66ers on Friday, according to team officials, and will make his debut Saturday at home against Lancaster. In a corresponding move, starter Garrett Nuss was demoted to Burlington. Nuss, 22, was 0-3 with an 8.75 ERA in six starts for the 66ers with 21 walks and 19 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. Additionally, outfielder Mark Shannon and reliever Austin Adams were promoted to Double-A Arkansas on Thursday. Adams, a 24-year old right-hander, was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings for the 66ers. Shannon, 24, is hitting.190 with 10 RBI. On deck: Angels at Orioles, Friday, 4 p.m. BY PEDRO MOURA Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards TV: Fox Sports West, 4 p.m. Did you know: Baltimore was the site of, arguably, Mike Trout's most famous defensive play to date. He robbed Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy of a home run there in June 2012, his rookie season. THE PITCHERS RHP JERED WEAVER (1-4, 4.98) Weaver was impressive in his last start, throwing a six-hit shutout against the Astros. Before that, not so much. His velocity had been sitting in the low-80s, and he hadn t been pinpointing his fastball like he needs to with that little oomph. The one thing he s consistently done well this year is limit his walks. He has walked a batter in only two of his seven starts. Vs. Orioles: 7-4, 3.46 At Oriole Park at Camden Yards: 2-2, 7.09 Loves to face: Travis Snider, 2 for 11 (.182), 4 SO

May 15, 2015 Page 7 of 16 Hates to face: Adam Jones, 7 for 23 (.304), 2 HR, 6 RBI LHP WEI-YIN CHEN (1-1, 2.52) Chen has been a comfortably solid pitcher since arriving from Taiwan three seasons ago, posting a 3.77 ERA in 92 starts for Baltimore. His control is generally impeccable. In 185 innings a year ago, he walked just 35 batters. Chen has struggled against the Angels in his limited opportunity, giving up three homers to current hitters. Vs. Angels: 0-1, 5.23 At Oriole Park at Camden Yards: 18-10, 3.40 Loves to face: None Hates to face: Erick Aybar, 2 for 4 (.500), 1 HR, 1 BB UPCOMING MATCHUPS Saturday: Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-3, 6.61) at Orioles RHP Bud Norris (1-4, 9.88), 4 p.m., Fox Sports West Sunday: Angels RHP Garrett Richards (3-1, 2.27) at Orioles RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2, 2.41), 10:30 a.m., Fox Sports West FROM ANGELS.COM By controlling zone, Angels can control stats By Alden Gonzalez ANAHEIM -- Every time an Angels prospect throws a bullpen session during Spring Training, a coach situates himself behind the catcher, clipboard in hand, charting balls and strikes. Those numbers factor into each pitcher's overall strike percentage, and that percentage is written on a cork board inside the Minor League facility, exposed to the entire organization and subject to the most intense of scrutiny. "We made guys aware," Angels director of player development Bobby Scales said. "When you put it on the board for everybody to see, it's amazing how much guys lock in." The Angels' Minor League affiliates currently lead the industry in strikeout-to-walk ratio. The season is young and the statistic itself isn't comprehensive, but for an organization that has spent the past 3 1/2 years obsessing over strike-throwing ability, it's a celebrated accomplishment nonetheless. "When I first got here and we had our first organizational meeting in the winter of 2011," general manager Jerry Dipoto said, "we really started pounding our coaches and rovers and Minor League managers that this was what we were going to be about. We were going to control the strike zone, we were going to command counts, we were going to find pitchers that could attack the strike zone and we were going to find hitters that could get into hitters' counts."

May 15, 2015 Page 8 of 16 The Angels would scout differently, drafting amateur players whose skill sets could translate to the Major Leagues, avoiding what Dipoto called "the red balloon" -- the shiny, toolsy prospect with high upside but lots of risk. And they would live by this mantra: The strike zone is baseball's line of scrimmage, and he who controls the line of scrimmage controls the game. Angels closer Huston Street, fresh off signing a two-year, $18 million extension, epitomizes that philosophy. Right-handed starter Garrett Richards personifies the urgency. When Richards established himself in the Major Leagues and made a run at the American League Cy Young Award in 2014, he became the Angels' first homegrown big-name starter since Jered Weaver arrived -- eight years earlier. "That's too long to go between starting pitchers," Dipoto said. "We needed to develop -- and we have needed to develop -- a steady flow of arms that can come through the big leagues." After back-to-back pitcher-heavy Drafts, a trio of trades for cost-controlled starters and a top-to-bottom emphasis over three years on pounding the strike zone, the Angels are finally seeing results. Their full-season affiliates -- Triple-A Salt Lake, Double-A Arkansas, Class A Advanced Inland Empire and Class A Burlington -- have a 2.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2015. It's significantly higher than the Major League average of 2.53 and a big improvement from where they finished in 2014 (2.17), '13 (2.18) and '12 (2.01). In tune with that, the organizational ERA has respectively gone from 4.64 to 4.41 to 4.28 to 4.06 over the past four years. It starts, of course, with talent. The Angels drafted a pitcher with 10 of their first 11 picks in 2013 and each of their first five in '14. They had the 15th overall selection last June and took Sean Newcomb, the big-bodied lefty who was just promoted to Class A Advanced. They dealt Mark Trumbo to get Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs two offseasons ago, traded Hank Conger to get Nick Tropeano in November 2014 and, one month later, dealt Howie Kendrick to get Andrew Heaney, their No. 1 prospect. But the development aspect has been just as crucial. From the start of Minor League camp, Angels pitchers are told that the big leaguers throw strikes 60 percent of the time, and they are challenged to do the same. Catchers are taught not to set up too far outside home plate during bullpen sessions and lines are painted on the grass, stretching out 200 feet, to ensure pitchers remain accurate even during long toss. The Angels preach "productive catch play" and teach players to "hold their catch partner accountable," which means every time a ball gets away, both parties have to chase it down. Marcel Lachemann, the longtime pitching coach and current Angels special assistant, met with lowerlevel pitchers on Wednesday and asked how their development was going. They started telling him about their improving changeups, sliders and cutters, and Lachemann interrupted. "I want everybody still to know," Lachemann said, "that whether you're at the big league level or the Minor League level or in Little League, controlling the bottom of the strike zone is most important." At their Minor League complex this spring, the Angels ran a yellow cord down their row of bullpens and right above home plate to indicate the bottom of the strike zone. The goal for each pitcher every time he stepped on a mound was to hit that string.

May 15, 2015 Page 9 of 16 "The most important thing you do is you throw a ball to a target," roving pitching coordinator Jim Gott tells his prospects. "Every time you hold a ball, that is the most important goal for you." Someday, the Angels hope, their Minor League hitters will control the strike zone as well as their pitchers have. But that will take time. The position-player talent in the Angels' farm system is sorely lacking, primarily because the last three years have been -- out of necessity -- so pitching-centric. Asked how prideful he is of the organization's early-season strikeout-to-walk ratio, Dipoto wasn't shy to say "a lot." "Because of how hard we've worked as an organization to get there, both in philosophy and in on-field teaching," Dipoto added. "If for even a month, we went from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the food chain in this category, that's a testament to the players on the field and all the hard work that these coaches and staff have done through the last three years." Angels give Newcomb Class A promotion By Alden Gonzalez ANAHEIM -- Prized pitching prospect Sean Newcomb is moving on up, to Class A Advanced Inland Empire. The Angels promoted Newcomb, the 15th overall pick in last June's First-Year Player Draft, after watching him dominate for low Class A Burlington early in his first full season of pro ball. Newcomb -- 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, with easy velocity on his fastball and command of three pitches -- posted a 1.83 ERA in his first seven starts for the Bees, striking out 45 batters and walking 19 in 34 1/3 innings. The 21-year-old left-hander will make his first start for the 66ers on Saturday. Newcomb was drafted out of the University of Hartford and is deemed the 66th-best prospect in the country by MLB.com, which lists him behind only Andrew Heaney in the Angels' system. Newcomb briefly attended big league camp this spring and could be in the Major Leagues by the stretch run of the 2016 season. "His talent is real," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said in Spring Training. "He has a chance to be special."

May 15, 2015 Page 10 of 16 FROM FOX SPORTS Mailbag: Trout levels off, backing Ken Burns and Duffy s Regression By Rob Neyer I get the feeling that Mike Trout, like a young Stan Musial, has entered a phase of his career where he has found his level, and will stop surprising us. He will just put up 175 OPS+ years like a dull metronome. What say you? - Mark Armour Well, as I write this, his OPS+ s have gone 168-179-167-177, which averages out to... 172. So yes, 175 seems like a pretty fair guess. While Trout s OBP s have significantly fluctuated from season to season, his slugging percentages have been practically identical. Your point, I think, is that we can t really expect Trout to improve. Which I think is basically correct. We ve always assumed that hitters are supposed to improve until they re 27 or 28, then begin that slow decline (and the better the player, the slower the decline). But some hitters mature earlier than others, and it s possible that Mike Trout was mature at 21. You could argue that Junior Griffey s best season came when he was 23, Mickey Mantle s when he was 24. I don t mean to suggest that we ve seen Trout s best; rather, if we haven t, we might soon. For me, the really interesting questions are about his speed and (in related news) his defense. At 20, Trout was regarded as a potential game-changer in center field. But his numbers since then just aren t anything special (Wednesday night s multiple heroics excepted, of course). And so I won t be surprised if he s in left field soon. Still a great hitter and player, though. Angels' Dipoto believes in the 'value' of the closer By Rashaun Haylock Jerry Dipoto doesn't need to be sold on the importance of the bullpen. The Angels general manager spent seven seasons in the big leagues as a relief pitcher in various roles. He also doesn't need to be sold on the importance of a closer. There's a theory that the role of the closer is being devalued. That's not a theory Dipoto subscribes to. It's evident in his decision to trade away the Angels former closer, Ernesto Frieri, to the Pirates and the acquisition of Huston Street from the Padres last season, in addition to making sure Street remains in the closer role with the Angels for the next two years with an agreement between the two parties on a contract extension earlier this week. Closers are closers for a reason, Dipoto says. The best in the game, including Street, have a 90-plus percent success rate. "Most guys if you give them the opportunity to close they're going to save somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 to 85 percent of the games," the Angels general manager said. "It's an incredible value if you can find a guy who can do it five percent more efficiently than they do.

May 15, 2015 Page 11 of 16 "It is absolutely huge because it's that one day, it's the one flop, it's the one blown save that you just couldn't afford at the wrong moment. It discourages teams and more importantly it discourages fan bases. It discourages major league staffs. It creates a whole different vibe around an organization." Street's success has come in spite of the fact that he's not blowing batters away with a tremendous amount of velocity. Although any general manager would like a bullpen full of high velocity flame throwers, Dipoto included, it's more important to the Angels general manager to have arms that can throw strikes, which is something he put a premium on when he was hired by the Angels in 2011. It's since been stressed organizational wide, he says. Street's fastball is, on average, 89mph. The Angels closer averages a strikeout per inning. "At the end of the day guys who get you out can get you out," Dipoto said. Street is able to get people out by being "a rare three-pitch closer with exceptional command and high end deception," Dipoto says but those characteristics have little to do with him being an effective closer. "Getting the last three outs in the ninth inning is a much different emotional feeling," Dipoto said. "The closer's role is about emotion. The closer's role is about makeup, it's about character, it's about having a short memory. It's almost never about the quality of his stuff. It's all about intangibles that you just can't measure." FROM THE LA DAILY NEWS The Entertainer: Johnny Giavotella has been pleasant surprise for Angels By Phil Collin For nine seasons, the Angels had the consummate professional manning the duties at second base. Howie Kendrick went about his job steadily, quietly, and simply produced year after year. It was clear that after matching his career high with 75 RBIs in 2014, Kendrick would be difficult to replace. The Angels traded for another quiet guy. Johnny Giavotella had spent much of the previous two seasons playing in the minors for the Kansas City Royals. And now, not even a quarter into the 2015 season, the Angels seemed to have found not only Johnny Who? but also Johnny the Entertainer. Huh? That s what Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson dubbed Giavotella after the second baseman s sixth gamewinning RBI this season in Tuesday s win over Colorado. He s got a great approach, Wilson said. When I used to pitch against him, he was a tough out for me because he can use the whole field and he s pretty disciplined up there. He doesn t just go up there and swing at the first thing he sees. He s a very intelligent hitter. He s got the most out of his time in triple-a the last couple years and really put it together for us.

May 15, 2015 Page 12 of 16 Giavotella, 27, has played 33 games for the Angels and is hitting.284 with 13 RBIs and an OPS of.708. It s easy to tell in his mind that he s not exactly about to embrace the Entertainer moniker. But he won t shy away from the big moments, either. The pressure s on the pitcher in that situation, Giavotella said. I just stick to my approach, think line drive up the middle and I try not to do too much. So how does he explain the clutch hits? We re playing a lot of close games and, fortunately for me, late in the games guys are getting on base, guys are getting in scoring position, he said. I try to get a good pitch to hit, try not to do too much and stick to my strengths. Now that s entertainment, no matter how subtle. But it s taken some time for him to find the right comfort zone when the time is right. I think it does take some experience, Giavotella said. I ve failed many times with guys in scoring position. I learned the best strategy in that situation is to relax, take a deep breath and trust in your talents. I love hitting in those situations. I work very hard on my offense, I work very hard before the game making sure I m locked in and when my teammates put me in that position, they have a lot of confidence in me. Needless to say, it s an approach that fits Manager Mike Scioscia s style. I think what we can expect from Johnny is he s going to give you a good at-bat, Scioscia said. No hitter s always going to come through, but out of all the guys on our team, Johnny s as good as there is in just making pitchers work, putting the ball in play, using the whole field. He s not going to drive the ball, obviously, but he s going to give you a good at-bat in any situation. FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Angels-Orioles Preview Following a sweep of MLB's worst team to cap a promising homestand, the resilient Los Angeles Angels have moved past their slow start behind a string of strong performances on the mound. Coming off his first shutout in three seasons, Jered Weaver hopes to continue the trend Friday night against the host Baltimore Orioles in a matchup between defending division champs looking to regain last season's form. Los Angeles starters ranked sixth in the AL with a 3.62 ERA en route to the West title in 2014, but they struggled early on this season in posting a 5.25 mark while the Angels (17-17) started 5-8. The rotation has turned things around with an MLB-best 2.86 ERA over its past 21 games. Los Angeles starters allowed two runs or fewer in seven of eight starts while the club went 6-2 to close out a ninegame homestand.

May 15, 2015 Page 13 of 16 Hector Santiago and five relievers struck out a combined 14 batters in Wednesday's 2-1 win that dealt Colorado its 11th consecutive defeat. Albert Pujols' walk-off sacrifice fly scored pinch-runner Taylor Featherston in the 11th inning. Now the Angels hope to move above.500 for the first time since April 8 as they give the ball to Weaver (1-4, 4.98 ERA) in the opener of a 10-game trip. The veteran allowed six hits in last Friday's 2-0 win over visiting Houston - his first shutout since Aug. 6, 2012. "This is going to give him confidence. When you try and try so hard and don't get results, it's hard," shortstop Erick Aybar told MLB's official website. "Hopefully that means he takes the ball next time with more confidence." Weaver, whose fastball topped out at 88 mph, will try to end his recent troubles on the road. He's yielded 11 runs and 16 hits - four home runs - in his last two away starts, falling to 0-4 with a 6.30 ERA in his past five there. The right-hander had been 5-2 with a 2.28 ERA in a seven-start stretch versus Baltimore before surrendering six runs and issuing four walks over five innings in a 7-6, 12-inning road loss July 29. Adam Jones took Weaver deep in that contest and is 3 for 9 with two homers in their matchups since 2013. J.J. Hardy, though, has gone just 3 for 23 lifetime versus Weaver. The defending East champion Orioles (15-17), averaging 3.3 runs over their past 12 games, are trying to dig their way out of last place after taking two of three from visiting Toronto. Jimmy Paredes stayed hot by going 2 for 4 with a double in Wednesday's 6-1 victory. The infielder is batting.347 during a career-best 12-game hitting streak and has hit in 19 of 21 overall. Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen (1-1, 2.52) has yielded three earned runs or fewer in each of his six outings. He earned his first victory Saturday, allowing one run and fanning seven over seven innings in a 6-2 win at Yankee Stadium. The left-hander is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA in two starts versus Los Angeles, with both coming on the road in 2012. Pujols, Aybar and Mike Trout each have homered over a combined 12 at-bats when facing Chen. Aybar also has been swinging a hot stick of late, going 7 for 10 over his last three games.

May 15, 2015 Page 14 of 16 FROM MASN SPORTS Opposite dugout: Even with Trout, Angels have been dreadful on offense Manager: Mike Scioscia (16th season) Record: 17-17 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: RF Kole Calhoun (.314, 18 RBIs), CF Mike Trout (.289/.356/.562 with 9 HR, 19 RBIs, 9 SB), 2B Johnny Giovatella (.284, 13 RBIs), RHP Garrett Richards (3-1, 2.27 ERA), RHP Huston Street (11 saves, 3.07 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (2-4 in 2014) Pitching probables: May 15: RHP Jered Weaver vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 16: RHP Matt Shoemaker vs. RHP Bud Norris, 7:05 p.m., MASN May 17: RHP Garrett Richards vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, 1:35 p.m., MASN Inside the Angels: The surprising Astros are one reason why the Angels aren't in first place in the American League West, but the real onus is on the Halos themselves. They've been downright dreadful on offense, and that's no way to repeat as AL West champs. Though the Mariners were the trendy pick to usurp the Angels' claim as the best in the West, the guys from Anaheim have much bigger problems to fix than one opponent that hasn't lived up to expectations and another that's surpassed them. You'd think a team boasting arguably baseball's most talented player, center fielder Mike Trout, would be a cinch to be a juggernaut with the bat. Trout has certainly done his part, slashing.289/.396/.562 with a team-high nine homers and 19 RBIs, good for a share of the club lead. But the rest of the Angels haven't been pulling their weight. Los Angeles ranks second-to-last in the AL in runs (114), and dead last in hits (255), on-base percentage (.291), slugging percentage (.348) and OPS (.639). Right fielder Kole Calhoun is the only regular with a batting average above.300. First baseman Albert Pujols (who has six years and $165 million left on his 10-year, $240 million deal) is scuffling along at.231 with five homers and 13 RBIs. Third baseman David Freese's World Series heroics with the Cardinals are a distant memory, and his.218 average, five home runs and 19 RBIs aren't cutting it. When the Angels traded for left fielder Matt Joyce in December, they expected they'd be getting a guy with a little pop and a consistent approach at the plate; instead, they received a confused hitter who is slashing.144/.181/.222 and quickly losing playing time. Outfielder Josh Hamilton relapsed into his drug addictions, reported his transgression, managed to avoid discipline and was jettisoned to the Rangers - despite the fact that they are a divisional rival and only halfway through a five-year, $125 million deal. Think free-spending owner Arte Moreno would like to have some of those decisions back? Manager Mike Scioscia must be wondering when his offense will wake up - or at least how far youngsters like Trout and Calhoun can carry them. The Angels have always done a good job of finding perfect complementary players - slick-fielding shortstop Erick Aybar and catcher Chris Iannetta are examples - who thrive with the big names around them because they don't have to shoulder much of

May 15, 2015 Page 15 of 16 the burden. That's not been the case this year, at least with a meager offensive attack that's somehow managed to stay within striking distance of the division-leading Astros, who are up by four games six weeks into the season. The pitching staff has made the 3.72 runs it gets per game go a long way. How? Opponents are slashing.232/.298/.366 against Angels hurlers. The 124 runs they've allowed are the fewest in the AL, and the Halos are in the middle of the pack in most key pitching categories. That begs a question: Have the been lucky to have not fared worse? The Angels begin a three-city, 10-game trek through a trio of AL East cities - Baltimore, Toronto and Boston - on a high note. They've won three straight and four of five overall. Aybar is on a.416 (15-for- 36) tear over his last 10 games, upping his average to.262, and Calhoun is 25-for-102 (.343) with 17 RBIs over his past 27 games. Trout is warming up with the weather, posting three homers in his past seven games. In 27 career games versus Baltimore, Trout has nine homers, 18 RBIs and a.272 average. Los Angeles, however, will need both hitting and pitching to succeed at Camden Yards. If the bats go silent, that puts more pressure on the arms. If the pitchers can't hold the Orioles in check, the Angels have to score a lot more and hope for the best. In his 10th season, 6-foot-7 right-hander Jered Weaver is no longer a flamethrower who relies on strikeouts. Trouble it, Friday's starter has not yet morphed into a finesse pitcher, either. But he does boast a repertoire of five pitches, including a fastball that now tops out at 87 mph, and is learning to be more of a pitcher than the thrower that dominated when he was younger. Weaver is coming off his best outing of the season, a six-hit, complete-game shutout of Houston on May 8 in which he fanned a season-high six. That marked his first victory in six starts, and the overall results have not been anything to brag about. This season, left-handers are hitting him at a.313 clip, and opposing hitters have a cumulative.288 average. He's 0-3 with a 6.38 in three road starts, and the early going has been a particular problem. In his first through 15th pitches, foes are slashing.417/.462/.792 off Weaver. Unlike the other starters in this series, Weaver has some history against the Orioles. Overall, he's 7-4 with a 3.46 ERA in 12 career starts. At Camden Yards, he's 2-2 with a 7.09 ERA. On Saturday, righty Matt Shoemaker will make his first start of 2015 against a non-al West club. He's coming off his worst performance of the season, when he yielded six runs in three innings against the Astros on May 6. But in his six starts this season, Shoemaker has logged six or more innings three times. He's 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three road starts this year, but he's allowed a batting average against of.285 overall. The home run ball has been a major issue - he's served up 10 longballs in 31 1/3 innings after allowing only 14 in 136 innings during his 16-win rookie season in 2014. Shoemaker has made one career start against the Orioles, taking the loss and posting a 6.35 ERA. He's a four-pitch pitcher, mixing a fastball that averages 88 mph (59 percent) with a split-finger fastball that dips to an 82 mph average (22 percent). But if Saturday is warm and humid, balls could be flying out toward Eutaw Street just like early speed holds up on the rail in Pimlico, site of the Preakness Stakes. Sunday's matchup of Angels righty Garrett Richards and Baltimore right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez looks to be the best of the three pitching battles in the weekend series. Though Richards missed the first two weeks of the season while on the disabled list recovering from left knee surgery late last season, he's made up for lost time by being the Halos' most reliable starting pitcher. He's made four straight starts of at least six innings pitched, yielding four earned runs over that span, and is coming off a May 10 start in which he allowed one run on one hit over 6 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. No one is hitting Richards with much success - he's got an overall batting average against of.165 (.169 against lefty swingers and.159 versus right-handers) - and he's been stingy with the home run ball, allowing only one homer in 31 2/3 innings pitched. He'll pitch deep into games, and this season that's the only time opponents have

May 15, 2015 Page 16 of 16 had any sustained success: from his 76th to 90th pitches, foes hit.286 against him. Richards is 0-2 with a 7.31 ERA in six games (two starts) in his career against the Orioles, and 0-1 with a 4.35 ERA in three games (one start) at Camden Yards. Richards throws his 97 mph fastball only 7 percent of the time, relying more on a cut fastball that averages 97 mph (57 percent) and an 86 mph slider (33 percent). The Angels have relied on their bullpen, which has posted a 3.10 ERA and a batting average against of.215, both the fifth-best marks in the AL. Closer Huston Street is 2-1 with 11 saves in 13 chances, a 3.10 ERA and 1.091 WHIP. Street, who functions as his own agent, just negotiated a two-year, $18 million extension through 2017. The 11-year veteran boasts an 86 percent save rate and a lifetime 2.82 ERA, and could have gotten three years easily on the open market.