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Archive for the 'Kendry Morales' Tag

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Angels’ young players heading to winter ball

October 21st, 2008, 8:21 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

A number of the Angels’ young players will be playing winter ball this season. The main place to keep your eye on will be the Estrellas team in the Dominican Republic, run by Angels coach Alfredo Griffin.

Planning to play for Griffin this winter are Angels outfielder Reggie Willits, infielder Brandon Wood, catcher Bobby Wilson and right-hander Shane Loux in addition to outfield prospect Brad Coon (team-high 17 steals at Triple-A Salt Lake last summer) and C Ben Johnson (a Double-A Texas League All-Star).

Willits will be trying to recoup the at-bats he lost by spending most of the summer buried on the Angels’ bench. He hit just .194 in 82 games (and 108 at-bats) this season — a big step back after hitting .293 in 136 games the year before. A good showing in winter ball will re-establish his credentials as an every-day option in the majors (if not for the Angels, then for some other team.)

But Wood will be the most important one to watch. Steady playing time in a highly-competitive winter league will be a good test of whether his second-half surge in Triple-A this summer really did signal his readiness for a major-league job.

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Posted in: Angels • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Angels set playoff roster — Jepsen in, Speier out

September 28th, 2008, 6:08 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Angels manager Mike Scioscia confirmed the obvious after Sunday’s game – that John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders (in that order) will start in the first round against the Boston Red Sox.

He also revealed the Angels’ roster for the first-round series. They will go with a 10-man pitching staff including both displaced starters (Jon Garland and Jered Weaver) and rookie reliever Kevin Jepsen (who did not make his big-league debut until Sept. 8).

Left out is veteran reliever Justin Speier.

The 15 position players include both Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr. as well as Kendry Morales and Brandon Wood but not Sean Rodriguez.

Here’s the list:

PITCHERS (10)

RHPs John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Jon Garland, Jered Weaver, Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Jose Arredondo and Kevin Jepsen

LHPs Joe Saunders and Darren Oliver

CATCHERS (2)

Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli

INFIELDERS (7)

Mark Teixeira, Howie Kendrick, Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood, Kendry Morales and Robb Quinlan

OUTFIELDERS (6)

Vladimir Guerrero, Torii Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Rivera, Garret Anderson and Reggie Willits

Posted in: Angels • Francisco Rodriguez • Mike Scioscia • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

Wednesday’s lineups — Angels vs. Mariners

September 24th, 2008, 6:12 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Stereotypical Seattle day — cloudy with occasional rain — so the roof here at Safeco Field is closed tonight.

The lineups:

ANGELS

3B Chone Figgins

LF Garret Anderson

1B Mark Teixeira

DH Vladimir Guerrero

CF Torii Hunter

RF Kendry Morales

SS Erick Aybar

C  Mike Napoli

2B Sean Rodriguez

RHP Jon Garland

MARINERS

RF Ichiro Suzuki

SS Yuniesky Betancourt

DH Raul Ibanez

2B Jose Lopez

CF Jeremy Reed

LF Wladimir Balentien

1B Bryan LaHair

C  Kenji Johjima

3B Miguel Cairo

RHP Felix Hernandez

Posted in: Angels • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Angels 15, Rangers 13 (final)

September 19th, 2008, 8:46 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

It’s nice to know 153 games into a season, you can still see something new.

The Angels spotted the Rangers a nine-run inning and still beat them thanks to the worst pitching staff in baseball. Six Rangers pitchers combined on a 22-hitter, the most hits in a game for the Angels this season. They scored at least one run in seven of the nine innings.

Mike Napoli pulled off a rare feat — he came up a single short of hitting for the cycle. Garret Anderson had four hits, three players had three-hit games and seven of the nine Angels’ starters had multi-hit games. Kendry Morales and Napoli hit consecutive home runs for the second consecutive game.  Torii Hunter had a three-run home run in the first inning.

The combined total of 28 runs is the second-most in a nine-inning game in the American League this season. The Rangers combined with the Boston Red Sox for the most in a 19-17 loss at Fenway Park earlier this season.

The combined total of 41 hits was the most in a nine-inning A.L. game this season and the second-most in the majors behind a 43-hit game between the Marlins and Rockies on July 4.

The 15-13 final was the most runs the Angels have given up in a victory since a 14-13, 10-inning win over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 15, 1994.

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Where have you gone Estaban Yan?

September 19th, 2008, 6:53 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
Garland mulls an Aug. 23 no decision vs. the Twins.

Garland mulls an Aug. 23 no decision vs. the Twins.

The Angels jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings Friday night in Texas thanks in part to a three-run home run by Torri Hunter in the first inning and back-to-back home runs by Kendry Morales and Mike Napoli in the third (the second consecutive game they have hit consecutive home runs).

But Jon Garland let it all get away in the bottom of the third (with some help from Gary Matthews Jr.).

The Rangers scored nine times on nine hits in the third inning, hitting for the cycle as a team — six singles, a two-run double by Hank Blalock, a triple by Joaquin Arias and a three-run home run by Chris Davis that ended Garland’s night. A run also scored on an error by Matthews when he chased Milton Bradley’s fly ball back to the warning track in left field only to let it glance off his glove.

Garland threw 85 pitches to retire seven of the 19 batters he faced — not an efficient use of pitches.

The nine runs and nine hits are the most allowed in an inning by the Angels since the sixth inning of a 16-3 loss at Dodger Stadium on May 19, 2006.

The Dodgers had nine runs and nine hits in the sixth inning that night off Angels relievers Esteban Yan and J.C. Romero.

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Still no Vlad — Angels vs. Rangers

September 19th, 2008, 4:03 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM
Forget Waldo - where's Vlady?

Forget Waldo - where's Vladdy?

When Vladimir Guerrero left last Friday’s game against the Seattle Mariners after four innings with a sore right knee, the Angels assured us it was nothing major, just a day-to-day thing.

Over the next couple days, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said he expected Guerrero to play during the Oakland series.

After an MRI and a visit to Dr. Lewis Yocum on Monday, the Oakland series went by with no appearance by Guerrero. The word changed. Scioscia said he “expected” Guerrero to play Friday in Texas.

It’s Friday. It’s Texas. And Guerrero is still not in the lineup.

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Posted in: Angels • Mike Scioscia • Vladimir Guerrero • • • • • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Angels 6, A’s 4 (final)

September 18th, 2008, 3:33 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

The Angels’ offense came back to life after two games in which they managed a total of three runs on 10 hits and didn’t have a hit with a runner in scoring position.

The back-to-back-to-back home runs by Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli and Brandon Wood made the most noise Thursday but Gary Matthews Jr. quietly had another good game with three hits including a double.

Matthews is making a move recently to salvage his lost season. With Thursday’s three-hit game, he has hit safely in nine of his past 12 games, batting .339 (20 for 59) in that stretch.

Joe Saunders threw seven shutout innings, allowing six hits. Justin Speier pitched a scoreless eighth but Jason Bulger continued to hurt his chances of making the post-season roster by hitting the first batter he faced in the ninth then walking the next.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced him with Jose Arredondo at that point. Bulger has failed to retire any of the seven batters he has faced in his past two outings, walking four, hitting two and giving up a single.

Arredondo walked a batter to load the bases then gave up a run-scoring infield single off the glove of first baseman Kendry Morales to lose the shutout bid. He struck out Travis Buck then gave way to Francisco Rodriguez..

With the bases loaded and the tying run on deck, it was probably the least pressure-packed of Rodriguez’s 66 save opportunities this season (the most in major-league history).

So he supplied his own. Rodriguez walked pinch-hitter Jack Cust to force in a run before getting a forceout that brought another run in. Kurt Suzuki singled in another run to make it a two-run lead before Ryan Sweeney grounded out to end the game. 

The Tampa Bay Rays play later tonight (the Boston Red Sox are off). But the Angels’ win Thursday afternoon trimmed their magic number to clinch the best record in the American League to 10 (seven to eliminate the Red Sox from consideration).

Posted in: Angels • Francisco Rodriguez • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Back-to-back-to-back HRs for Angels

September 18th, 2008, 2:50 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Already leading 3-0, the Angels doubled their pleasure with three consecutive home runs in the top of the seventh inning off A’s reliever Keith Foulke.

With one out, Kendry Morales started the fireworks with his second home run in this series. Two pitches later, Mike Napoli added his 17th home run of the season. On the next pitch, Brandon Wood hit his fifth.

The three home runs came in a span of four pitches. It is the first time the Angels have had back-to-back-to-back home runs since the trio of Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Guillen and Jeff DaVanon did it against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 24, 2004.

Angels left-hander Joe Saunders has shut out the A’s on six hits through seven innings.

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Hunter back in — Angels vs. A’s Thursday

September 18th, 2008, 11:45 am by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

His right cheek still makes it look like he’s smuggling nuts but Torii Hunter is back in the lineup for the Angels today. Garret Anderson gets the day off against another A’s left-hander.

ANGELS

LF Reggie Willits

RF Gary Matthews Jr.

DH Mark Teixeira

CF Torii Hunter

3B Robb Quinlan

1B Kendry Morales

C  Mike Napoli

SS Brandon Wood

2B Sean Rodriguez

LHP Joe Saunders

A’S

CF Rajai Davis

LF Aaron Cunningham

C  Kurt Suzuki

DH Emil Brown

RF Chris Denorfia

SS Bobby Crosby

2B Cliff Pennington

3B Jack Hannahan

1B Jeff Baisley

LHP Josh Outman

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Angels’ injury woes get worse (Figgins, Hunter)

September 17th, 2008, 6:25 pm by BILL PLUNKETT, OCREGISTER.COM

Instead of giving more time to get healthy for the playoffs, clinching the division so early has just given the Angels more time to sustain more injuries.

The latest new name on that list is Torii Hunter. But another name that seemed to be off the list is back on — Chone Figgins.

Figgins will leave the team Thursday and return to Southern California to have his sore right elbow re-examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum. Figgins said he expects to have a second set of X-rays taken and probably an MRI as well.

“It’s just the soreness isn’t going away,” Figgins said. “With ice and things like that, the soreness usually goes away. … I just wonder why it’s not going away. That’s what I want to know.”

Figgins was hit by a pitch on Sept. 8 and originally missed four games then returned to DH twice before playing third base for the first time since the injury Tuesday. He never had a ball hit to him to test his arm but he came away from the game “a little bit stiff,” according to Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

“It’s just a little precautionary,” Scioscia said of tomorrow’s exam. “They want to take a look at it.”

Meanwhile, Hunter was scratched from tonight’s lineup with a self-inflicted injury.

Hunter was taking some swings in the batting cages under the stands and lined a ball off the L-screen that protects the pitcher. The ball caromed back and hit Hunter in the right cheek, sending him to the trainer’s room for an ice pack. The cheek is bruised and swollen but the injury is not considered serious.

Tonight’s re-written lineups follow:

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Posted in: Angels • Mike Scioscia • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

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