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Clips

(April 14, 2016)

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Today’s Clips Contents

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

Kole Calhoun twice drives in Mike Trout, and Angels finish sweep of

Athletics, 5-1

How Angels backup catcher Geovany Soto stays ready: ‘a lot of work,

man’

FROM THE OC REGISTER (Page 5)

Matt Shoemaker gets aggressive, flashes 2014 form as Angels win fourth

straight

Early returns indicates Angels’ defensive shifting may not be working

Move to middle of the Angels’ order seems to agree with Kole Calhoun

Angels Notes: Greg Mahle (Westminster High) throws perfect inning in

major league debut

Angels look for sweep behind Matt Shoemaker

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 11) Calhoun delivering in middle of Halos’ order

Aggressive approach yields results for Shoemaker

Calhoun, Shoemaker lead Angels to sweep

Trout honors Kobe with cleats, batting gloves

Richards looks for first win against Twins

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 17)

Shoemaker, Angels beat Athletics for 4th straight win

April 14, 2016 Page 3 of 19

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES Kole Calhoun twice drives in Mike Trout, and Angels finish sweep of Athletics, 5-1

Pedro Moura

OAKLAND — The Angels did the same thing twice, the details only slightly altered, to win Wednesday's matinee in the same manner they have for four games running. They pattered the ball into play, often beat it into the ground, and defeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-1, to cinch a three-game sweep at the Oakland Coliseum. Twice, Mike Trout stood in scoring position with two outs, with the Angels in danger of wasting the development. Twice, Kole Calhoun singled through the middle to score him. The pitches Calhoun hit took the same trajectory to the plate, and the balls went the same way off his bat too. They were almost exactly the same. "He's the reason why we're winning the last few games," Trout said of his fellow outfielder Said Calhoun: "You try to stay up the middle and get results, and you get positive reinforcement in those situations." Calhoun has hit directly in front of Trout for most of his Angels career and thus drove in Trout only one dozen times over 373 games entering play Wednesday. That number may be quadrupled this season, as Trout will hit third and Calhoun will switch between the fifth and sixth spots, depending on the pitcher. In this series, Calhoun amassed almost as many hits as he made outs, going six for 13 and raising his 2016 average to .387. In Wednesday's third inning, Trout got into scoring position by singling and stealing second. In the fifth, he doubled and arrived at third on a wild pitch from Oakland starter Eric Surkamp. Calhoun began to set the table in the eighth inning, in which he doubled and scored when Andrelton Simmons singled. Albert Pujols added a two-run single in the ninth for insurance runs the Angels made superfluous. That was because they received an excellent start from Matt Shoemaker, the 29-year-old right-hander who disappointed them in his abbreviated 2016 debut. This time, he approached perfection without much notice, permitting only one hit in six innings while striking out five Athletics. First baseman C.J. Cron committed the biggest mistake while Shoemaker was on the mound, missing a routine foul popup Manager Mike Scioscia called a "little hiccup." "It's what we needed," Shoemaker said. "That was the aggressive mentality I knew I needed."

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After Shoemaker, whom he described as "electric," Scioscia turned to 22-year-old left-hander Greg Mahle, making his major league debut. Mahle's wild first pitch brushed back Coco Crisp, but he rebounded to finish the seventh inning using just seven more. "I felt a lot of nerves," Mahle said. "Obviously, you could see it with the first throw." Managing without closer Huston Street, who had pitched in three straight games, Scioscia used Fernando Salas to start the eighth, Jose Alvarez to finish that inning and start the ninth, and Joe Smith to finish the game. The Angels struck out only four times Wednesday afternoon, bringing their 2016 total to 48 in nine games. Put another way, just 14.8% of their plate appearances have ended in strikeouts, by far the smallest number in the American League at this admittedly early juncture. The Minnesota Twins, the team the Angels will next face Friday in Minneapolis, have struck out more than twice as often — 30.4% entering play Wednesday. The big league average is 22%, the AL one even higher. "It is by design, but not by philosophy," Scioscia said, connoting that the Angels' approach is in part a product of the contact-oriented hitters new General Manager Billy Eppler added in the off-season.

How Angels backup catcher Geovany Soto stays ready: ‘a lot of work, man’

Pedro Moura

OAKLAND — Geovany Soto launched a game-winning home run for the Angels on Tuesday night and was not in their lineup Wednesday afternoon, so the 33-year-old returned to the batting cages at the Oakland Coliseum and turned up the velocity, as he often does. To stay alert in his role as the team's backup catcher, he stands in against the hardest pitches machines can offer. Otherwise, he said, he would not be able to handle fastballs like the 93-mph one from Sean Doolittle that he hit for the homer. "You've still gotta see it, and you still gotta hit it," Soto said. "You feel like once you've been around, and you can understand your role, you have to work harder on that. You have to know your role. A lot of extra work, man. A lot of extra work and concentration to try to stay with that rhythm, so when you are in there, you do the best you can for the club." Soto has started three of the Angels' nine games, a ratio that figures to remain throughout the season while Carlos Perez gets a chance to prove he can be a capable primary catcher.

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Soto started 53 games for the Chicago White Sox last year, about the same pace. Soto is a career .246 hitter with a .332 on-base percentage and .434 slugging mark. Perez has hit .245/.297/.339 over 93 games in his career. Glove treatment Mike Trout wore Kobe Bryant-themed batting gloves during batting practice to acknowledge the basketball star's retirement. The gloves had the numbers Kobe wore as a Laker — 8 and 24 — emblazoned on either hand. He also used purple-and-gold cleats. Trout was not permitted under Major League Baseball rules to wear the Nike-provided gear during the game. He planned to watch Bryant's final game on the Angels' flight to Minneapolis on Wednesday night. "It sucks to see him leave," Trout said. "But he seems to be doing what's right for him and his family." Trout met Bryant last month in Phoenix as did several Angels teammates and Padres outfielder Matt Kemp, who also wore the Nike equipment on Wednesday. Short hops The Angels' bullpen coach, former big league reliever Scott Radinsky, did not accompany the team on its flight. He was sent to a local hospital for examination. No other details were available. … After Thursday's off day, the Angels will start Garrett Richardson Friday, Jered Weaver on Saturday and rookie right-handerNick Tropeano on Sunday. FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Matt Shoemaker gets aggressive, flashes 2014 form as Angels win fourth straight

By JEFF FLETCHER / STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND – Matt Shoemaker seems like such a different pitcher when he’s going good than when he’s not, but the difference may not be anything you could pick out on a video. It may be between his ears.

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Before he tossed an encouraging six scoreless innings in the Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Oakland A’s on Wednesday afternoon, Shoemaker said he had resolved to have a different mindset. “I felt like I was kind of passive in the past, for whatever reason,” Shoemaker said. “Just attack the zone. Use all four pitches in attack mode. The way I pitch is super aggressive.” At least, the way he wants to pitch. When he was getting hit hard, Shoemaker was not throwing strikes so aggressively. He was nibbling at the corners of the zone instead. “Even when you aren’t trying to nibble, sometimes the results are nibble,” Shoemaker said. “So we just changed that mindset. Attack early with good quality pitches. We did that.” Right from the start. Shoemaker pitched a perfect first inning, striking out two. He would allow just one hit in his 94-pitch outing. The A’s got a runner into scoring position in only two innings, and only once had more than one runner on base. “The first inning he was electric,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That’s what we saw a couple years ago.” That “couple years ago” Shoemaker is who he has been trying to rediscover ever since. After he was the runner-up for the AL Rookie of the Year in 2014, he struggled for most of 2015 and got 2016 off to a bad start when he gave up six runs Friday. The skeptics have been swirling, suggesting that 2014 was the outlier season, and that the pitcher who has struggled since may be who he really is. Shoemaker, of course, believes otherwise, as do the Angels, who continue to show faith in him. “He has it in him,” Scioscia said. “This is more indicative of how he can pitch than we saw at points last year and definitely in his first start this year.” Getting the 2014 version of Shoemaker would obviously make the Angels a much better team. Combined with Sunday’s game by Jered Weaver (six innings, one run) and Monday’s performance by Nick Tropeano (five scoreless innings), the Angels have gotten solid work lately from a few pitchers with questions surrounding them.

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After the first four games, when the starters posted a 6.75 ERA, it looked like the Angels may be in for a long season. Scioscia insisted he had confidence they would pitch better. Over the last five games, including four victories, the Angels starters have a 2.01 ERA. With Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson on the disabled list, and with Tyler Skaggs still working back from Tommy John surgery, the Angels have little margin for error with their remaining starters. “It’s like night and day,” Scioscia said. “The turn around you are seeing that if we have our rotation getting us to a certain point in the game, with our bullpen evolving, it’ll do the job.”

Early returns indicates Angels’ defensive shifting may not be working

By JEFF FLETCHER / STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND – The Angels' acceleration into the world of infield shifts has come with some speed bumps. After the first eight games of the season – obviously a sample too small to make any definitive judgments – there is some data that suggests their new approach may have some problems. Before Wednesday’s game, the Angels had used a shift – defined as any defensive alignment with three infielders on one side of second base – for 127 hitters, most in the majors. The Houston Astros were second at 110. The major league average on balls in play against shifts was .287, but against the Angels it was .339. The overall average on all ground balls was .237, but against the Angels it was .271. Manager Mike Scioscia’s first explanation was that it’s a small sample, which it is. Scioscia also said the Angels' approach to defense is going to continue to evolve. The charts they use to show where hitters are likely to put the ball in play include situations when the hitter was not facing a shift. Just because a hitter has typically pulled the ball doesn’t mean he’s going to do that when there is only one infielder on the opposite side. “What those sheets do not have built in them is a hitter's ability to adjust to them,” Scioscia said. “They are not future projections. We’ve seen hitters who have the ability to augment their swings and have done it and been successful. That’s what you are compiling now, to see what adjustments you have to make.”

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There have already been a few instances this season when hitters have clearly altered their swings to beat Angels shifts. “That’s going to evolve with guys who can handle their swings, hitters’ ability to adjust,” Scioscia said. “All this stuff will eventually be factored in. Hitters aren’t up there just blindly closing their eyes and swinging the bat.” Scioscia said he doesn’t know if the Angels shifting will reduce as the season goes on. “I don’t know what it’s going to be,” he said. “It’s going to be what it is. There is nothing driven to us that we have to shift more than anybody more or less than anyone. We’re going to continue to do what makes sense.”

Move to middle of the Angels’ order seems to agree with Kole Calhoun

By JEFF FLETCHER / STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND – Kole Calhoun seems to have taken to being a middle-of-the-order hitter. After spending his first couple years in the majors batting at the top of the order – in the favorable spot of hitting ahead of Mike Trout – this season the Angels have dropped Calhoun into more of a run-producing spot, fifth or sixth. With three hits Wednesday, including a pair of two-out hits that drove in the Angels' first two runs, Calhoun is now hitting .387. The left-handed hitting Calhoun is also 4 for 11 against left-handed pitchers, including both his RBI hits Wednesday. “I’m just trying not to do too much,” Calhoun said. “Just put the ball in lay and get on base and make something happen.” Last year Manager Mike Scioscia briefly tried Calhoun in the middle of the order, but it didn’t work and he moved him back to the top. Calhoun suggested that he may be better equipped this time around. “Maybe just another year, more experience,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to go out and play. Not put too much pressure on it. Go out and have fun.”

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Angels Notes: Greg Mahle (Westminster High) throws perfect inning in major

leage debut

By JEFF FLETCHER / STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND – Greg Mahle’s long-awaited first pitch in the majors was high and tight, knocking down Oakland’s Jed Lowrie. Announcing his presence to the league? “I wish I could say it was on purpose,” Mahle said. “But it wasn’t.” Nope. Just nerves. But Mahle got over them quickly. The Westminster High product went on to pitch a perfect seventh, including a strikeout of right-handed hitting Billy Butler. “It was awesome,” Mahle said. Mahle’s parents had come up from Southern California to see Monday’s game, his first on a big league roster, but they had to return to work and weren’t at Wednesday’s game. ALSO Bullpen coach Scott Radinsky was taken from the clubhouse, in uniform, in a wheelchair after the game. The Angels said he was taken to a hospital and has been released. The team provided no further information on his condition. ... Mike Trout wore special black batting gloves as a tribute to Kobe Bryant on the day of his final game. Trout also had special black shoes, but MLB uniform rules prevented him from wearing those during the game. ... Joe Smith was warming to pitch the ninth in a save situation. Huston Street was unavailable because he had pitched three days in a row. By the time Smith came in, the Angels had a four-run lead, so there was no save. ... Yunel Escobar has reached base in seven of nine games so far this season.

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Angels look for sweep behind Matt Shoemaker

By JEFF FLETCHER / STAFF WRITER

OAKLAND -- Winners of three in a row, the Angels will try finish off a sweep of the Oakland A's on Wednesday afternoon at 12:30, with Matt Shoemaker on the mound. Shoemaker is coming off the worst start of the young season so far for the Angels. He allowed six runs and lasted just three-plus innings last Friday in a loss to the Texas Rangers. Shoemaker is still trying to rediscover his 2014 form, after a difficult 2015. The lineups... ANGELS Yunel Escobar 3B Craig Gentry LF Mike Trout CF Albert Pujols DH C.J. Cron 1B Kole Calhoun RF Andrelton Simmons SS Carlos Perez C Johnny Giavotella 2B A'S Billy Burns CF Coco Crisp LF Josh Reddick RF Stephen Vogt C Danny Valencia 3B Chris Coghlan 2B Billy Butler DH Yonder Alonso 1B Marcus Semien SS

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FROM ANGELS.COM

Calhoun delivering in middle of Halos’ order

Right fielder has three hits, two RBIs in win over A’s

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | @Alden_Gonzalez | April 13th, 2016

OAKLAND -- Kole Calhoun profiled more so as a middle-of-the-order bat, but the Angels' lack of on-base ability and Calhoun's versatility vaulted him to the top of their lineup, directly in front of Mike Trout for the vast majority of his first two full seasons in the Major Leagues. The Angels don't believe that is necessary now, though. They see Yunel Escobar and Daniel Nava -- or Craig Gentry, when a lefty starts -- as legitimate on-base threats that can feed Trout ample RBI opportunities. And because of that, they're able to take advantage of Calhoun's ability to drive in runs. It showed up in Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the A's. Calhoun came through with a pair of two-out RBI singles to left-center field in the third and fifth innings, accounting for the Angels' first two runs. In the eighth, he smoked a ball down the left-field line for a double and later scored on Andrelton Simmons' single. Calhoun entered the series finale having driven in just one run, but it wasn't his doing. The 28-year-old right fielder was a victim of an offense that was slow out of the gate, one that entered the week with the Majors' second-lowest OPS. His three hits put his batting average at .387, and because Trout and Albert Pujols were on base a combined five times on Wednesday, the RBIs started to show up. "It's huge," Trout said of Calhoun's early season production. "It's the reason why we've won the last few games." Calhoun's 2015 season saw him trade some strikeouts in favor of more home runs. He's only listed at 5-foot-10, but he slugged .545 in his Minor League career and has a .435 SLG over the last two years, 40 points above the Major League average. The middle of the order has always been the more natural fit. "I thought at some point maybe it would happen," Calhoun said. "But I never really thought about it, to be honest with you. Just go out and play. I never wrote my own lineup, so it kind of is what it is. There's a lot of spots in the order that are fun to hit, and right now, hitting in the middle of the order is a blast."

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Aggressive approach yields results for Shoemaker

Angels right-hander allows just one hit, three walks in six innings

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | @Alden_Gonzalez | April 13th, 2016

OAKLAND -- As ugly as the results may have been, Matt Shoemaker came out of his last start believing he wasn't far off from performing like the starting pitcher he wants to be. He was charged with six runs and recorded only nine outs against the Rangers, but he felt his stuff was good and his location was sufficient, and that only a little bit of luck would've changed the complexion of his outing. Then he took the mound at the Oakland Coliseum and got the type of results he had been searching for. Thanks to excellent fastball command and a propensity for locating pitches low in the strike zone, Shoemaker kept the A's scoreless through six innings in Wednesday's series finale, a 5-1 win by the Angels. He gave up just one hit, three walks and struck out five. He got back to attacking hitters. "That aggressive mentality is what I needed to see," Shoemaker said. "I knew it was there, but actually doing it, that was definitely good." The Angels have been getting solid starting pitching ever since Shoemaker's rough debut five days earlier. It was followed by two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings from Garrett Richards, six innings of one-run ball by Jered Weaver, five scoreless innings from Nick Tropeano, 7 2/3 innings from Hector Santiago and an impressive start on Wednesday from Shoemaker, who finished last season 7-10 with a 4.46 ERA. The second time through the order has been "like night and day" for the starting rotation, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. And so were the results of Shoemaker's first two starts. The 29-year-old right-hander struggled in five starts against the A's last year with a 6.84 ERA and was hit around all spring, charged with 19 runs on 30 hits (nine of them homers) in 25 innings. With Tropeano capable of holding down a spot in the rotation, and Andrew Heaney enthusiastic about his recovery from a tight left forearm, and Tyler Skaggs and C.J. Wilson expected to join the team in the foreseeable future, Shoemaker needs starts like this to continue getting the ball every fifth day. He continues to be held up to the standard of his phenomenal rookie season, when he won 16 games and finished with a 3.04 ERA, and Scioscia doesn't seem to believe it's unfair.

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"The way he pitched in 2014 [is the way] he had pitched for his whole life," Scioscia said. "And he got a chance in the Major Leagues and executed his pitches and had an incredible season. Last year, he wasn't quite as crisp, had a little problem with his forearm strain. But if you look at the way he bounced back, pitched in Detroit late in the year, he has it in him, there's no doubt about it. This is more indicative of the way he can pitch."

Calhoun, Shoemaker lead Angels to sweep

By Jane Lee and Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | April 13th, 2016

OAKLAND -- Right-hander Matt Shoemaker strung together six scoreless innings on Wednesday afternoon, limiting the A's to one hit while getting an assist from Kole Calhoun and Albert Pujols, who each drove in a pair of runs to help the Angels secure their fourth straight win, 5-1, for a three-game series sweep at the Oakland Coliseum. Calhoun finished with three hits, including a double in the eighth, when he scored on Andrelton Simmons' ensuing base hit. The A's, meanwhile, managed just three hits all day, one of them a home run from shortstop Marcus Semien in the eighth inning -- his third in two days and fourth this season. Oakland starter Eric Surkamp lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks (one intentional) with one strikeout. Right-hander Liam Hendriks surrendered two more in the ninth on four consecutive singles, including Pujols' two-run base hit, as the A's fell to 4-6, including 1-6 at home. "I think we're better than this, and I'm not gonna shy away from saying it," the A's Chris Coghlan said. "I think that we can be better than [the Angels]. They out-executed us, and a lot of that has to do with experience. Hopefully we can learn from that and when there are bigger situations, we can execute better next time we play them." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED The Shoe fits: Shoemaker recovered from a rough first start in a big way, keeping the A's scoreless through six innings and allowing only four baserunners. The 29-year-old right-hander gave up only one hit, pitching around three walks and striking out five. It was a very encouraging outing, especially considering he gave up six runs and recorded only nine outs in his debut against the Rangers. "It's a long season, but we know we can do this the whole season," Shoemaker said. "It's just a matter of going out there and doing it. That aggressive mentality is what I needed to see. I knew it was there, but actually doing it, that was definitely good."

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Slow out of the gates: An A's offense that has struggled to produce consistent results in this young season once again flailed, reaching base only seven times -- including once on an error. Semien's sudden power surge was the lone offensive highlight of the series, with the shortstop tallying two long balls in Tuesday's loss ahead of Wednesday's solo shot off of right-hander Fernando Salas in the eighth. Oakland has plated two runs or fewer in four of its first 10 games, averaging 2.7 in that span. "It's contagious both ways at times, and right now, they're working, trying, just not getting hard contact right now, let alone some hits other than Marcus, who has had a good couple of days," A's manager Bob Melvin said. Kole world: Calhoun lined a couple of two-out RBI singles into left-center field in the third and fifth innings. The Angels' offense is off to a sluggish start, but Calhoun, who has spent all year batting fifth or sixth, has 12 hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .387 batting average. Calhoun also doubled down the left-field line in the eighth and scored on Simmons' RBI single. "Just not trying to do too much," Calhoun said of his hot start. "Trying to put the ball in play, getting on base and trying to make something happen." Always Dull: A's reliever Ryan Dull, seemingly a magician with men on base, came through again for the club in the fifth inning following Surkamp's departure with men on first and second and two outs. The right-hander made quick work of Simmons, needing just three pitches to induce an inning-ending pop fly and keep the A's within striking distance. Dull has stranded all six of his inherited runners this season. QUOTABLE "I think we see the potential to be that team. I think this team is going to continue to improve as the summer goes on. I think we'll get comfortable and be able to evaluate some things as we get comfortable in some of the things we can do, and hopefully we can do them well. You can see things happening that are lining us up to be that team that we can be, but we have a long way to go." -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia, when asked if he's starting to see the team he envisioned FIRST IMPRESSIONS Lefty reliever Greg Mahle made his Major League debut in the bottom of the seventh and delivered a 1-2-3 inning, getting a flyout to right -- thanks to Calhoun's sliding catch in foul territory -- then a strikeout and a groundout. Mahle, a 22-year-old drafted in the 15th round in 2014, profiles as a lefty specialist, but his first two outs in that seventh inning came against righties. WHAT'S NEXT Angels: The Angels are off on Thursday before starting a three-game weekend against the Twins at Target Field, which marks the midway point of their three-city road trip. Garrett

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Richards gets the ball, opposite lefty Tommy Milone, in search of his first win this season. The hard-throwing right-hander has a 3.86 ERA through two starts. Athletics: The A's will enjoy their first off-day of the season Thursday before returning to the Coliseum for the start of a three-game series with the defending world champion Royals. Left-hander Rich Hill gets the start in Friday's opener, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT. Hill allowed one run in six innings in his last start in Seattle, striking out 10 batters.

Trout honors Kobe with cleats, batting gloves

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | @Alden_Gonzalez | April 13th, 2016

OAKLAND -- Angels center fielder Mike Trout honored Kobe Bryant on Wednesday with special, custom-made cleats and batting gloves to commemorate the Los Angeles Lakers great prior to the final game of his NBA career. Trout's usual custom-made Nikes were painted black and gold, while his standard batting gloves were black, purple and gold with Bryant's emblem on the index finger and his two jersey numbers -- 8 and 24 -- stitched below the palm. Trout couldn't wear the shoes during the 5-1 win over the A's because they aren't the Angels' official colors, but he was able to keep the batting gloves on. Bryant, who lives in Orange County and has attended several Angels games, concludes his NBA career on Wednesday night with a matchup against the Utah Jazz from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Bryant -- who, like Trout, has a major endorsement deal with Nike -- is a future Hall of Famer and will retire as a five-time champion and the third-leading scorer in NBA history. "When you turned on an NBA game, you wanted to watch Kobe," Trout said. "Just the excitement he brought to the game. He's a superstar, night in and night out. It sucks to see him leave, but obviously, he's doing what's right for him and his family. He's had a great career. "It's crazy when you think that next year he's not going to be in uniform. It goes by quick." Reliever's mindset: Hector Santiago lasted 7 2/3 innings on Tuesday, his longest start since joining the Angels and one out away from tying his career high, which was set with the White Sox in 2013. In 13 2/3 innings so far this season, Santiago has issued only three walks. Part of the reason for that is he no longer feels the need to use all five of his pitches. Against the A's, he didn't throw a single breaking ball after the start of the fourth. He also is trying to re-establish the reliever's mentality he had while pitching in the back end of the White Sox bullpen early in his career, a mindset that allows him to attack hitters and generate weak early contact.

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"Just straight-up attack," Santiago said. "One pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time, one inning at a time. Just try to get through each inning as fast as you can." Shifty alignments: The Angels are still shifting more than any other team in baseball, but their results haven't been favorable thus far. The Major League average on balls in play against shifts was .287 entering Wednesday, but against the Angels, it was .339. Manager Mike Scioscia noted the small sample size but also stated that the Angels' shifts will continue to evolve as they account for hitters' adjustments. "What those sheets do not have built in them is a hitter's ability to adjust to them," Scioscia said. "They are not future projections. We've seen hitters who have the ability to augment their swings and have done it and been successful. That's what you are compiling now, to see what adjustments you have to make." Late-game defense: Scioscia replaced second baseman Johnny Giavotella for Cliff Pennington late in Wednesday's win over the A's, as he's prone to do when his team has a late lead. But he did not replace first baseman C.J. Cron with Ji-Man Choi. Cron booted a grounder to his right side earlier in the game and also lost track of a foul popup, but Scioscia seemingly doesn't consider Choi enough of a defensive upgrade to take Cron's bat out of the lineup. Scioscia said he has "confidence that Cron is going to be fine late in games." Radinsky hospitalized: Bullpen coach Scott Radinsky did not join the Angels on the team flight to Minnesota and was instead taken to a local hospital to undergo testing for an undisclosed medical condition. The Angels had no further comment.

Richards looks for first win against Twins

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | April 13th, 2016

Twins lefty Tommy Milone matches up against Angels right-hander Garrett Richards when the two teams begin a three-game series from Target Field on Friday, with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET. Friday also marks MLB's celebration of Jackie Robinson Day. Richards has lost each of his first two starts, but he has displayed some electric stuff, striking out 13 batters in 11 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old limited the Rangers to two runs through the first six innings on Saturday, but he was charged with two additional runs in a seventh inning that saw his defense commit two key errors. Milone was also hurt by a couple of errors in his season debut against the Royals, which saw him retire the first 10 batters in order, then give up back-to-back homers and ultimately exit having given up four runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings.

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The Angels are off on Thursday before starting their series in Minnesota, the middle part of a three-city trip. The Twins conclude a four-game series against the White Sox on Thursday. Things to know • The Angels won five of their seven games against the Twins last season, after going 7-0 against Minnesota in 2014. They've won 11 of their last 13 season series against the Twins. • Milone gave up five runs and recorded only four outs in his only start against the Angels last year, but he posted a 2.89 ERA in three starts against them in 2014 as a member of the A's. • Richards has a 2.66 ERA in three starts against the Twins over the last two seasons, giving up seven runs in 23 2/3 innings despite issuing 12 walks in that span.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Shoemaker, Angels beat Athletics for 4th straight win

OAKLAND, Calif. -- All it took was a different mindset for Matt Shoemaker's dramatic turnaround from his last start. Now he's looking to continue the trend. Shoemaker pitched one-hit ball for six shutout innings and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 Wednesday for their fourth straight win. "I felt a little passive last time out for whatever reason," Shoemaker said. "This time I wanted to be aggressive as possible from the start and attack the zone. I definitely like the results." Shoemaker was tagged by the Rangers for six runs in three innings in his last start against Texas. This time he didn't allow enough baserunners to do any damage. "This is more indicative of how he can pitch," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The first inning he was electric. His fastball command was terrific and he finished strong." Mike Trout had three hits, scored three runs and stole a base as the Angels finished a three-game sweep. Kole Calhoun got three hits and drove in two runs, and Albert Pujols also had two RBI. Marcus Semien hit his third home run in two days for the A's. Oakland fell to 1-6 at home.

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"Right now it has a lot to do with the way we're swinging the bats," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Yeah, it's disappointing not playing as well as we did in Seattle." Shoemaker (1-1) gave up a single in the second inning to Danny Valencia. He struck out five and walked three. Eric Surkamp (0-1) went 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. The Angels won their fifth straight at the Coliseum. Calhoun extended his hitting streak to seven games and has driven in 17 runs against the A's since the beginning of last year. Valencia and Coco Crisp were the only A's to get as far as second base against Shoemaker, who retired 11 of his final 12 hitters. The A's finished with three hits. TROUT ON BASKETBALL Trout is an unabashed Kobe Bryant fan, and seeing his career end is both disappointing and celebratory. "It sucks for him to leave," Trout said. "But he's got to do what's right for him and his family. He was a superstar night in and night out. I'll remember the excitement he brought to the game." Trout, who visited the Golden State Warriors practice facility Tuesday, said he'll be watching the Warriors-Grizzlies game on the plane heading to Minnesota, where the Angels open a series on Friday night. "They're a good team. They play defense," Trout said. "They have a great chance to win it." THE DEBUT Left-hander Greg Mahle made his major league debut with a scoreless seventh inning. His first pitch sailed on him, but he struck out Billy Butler to calm his nerves. "It was awesome," he said. "There were a lot nerves as you saw by that first pitch. Once I got the first strikeout I calmed down and felt like I just pitched." TRAINER'S ROOM Angels: Over his past 16 games against Oakland, Trout is hitting .383 with six doubles, four homers, eight RBI and 28 runs scored. The 18 runs he scored against the A's last season were the most in a single season by an Angels player against the A's in franchise history.

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Athletics: OF Khris Davis was given a scheduled day off. He entered the game hitting .167 with no homers, no RBI and had struck out 14 times, matching the most in the majors. UP NEXT Angels: RHP Garrett Richards (0-2, 3.86) starts Friday night in Minnesota. Athletics: LHP Rich Hill (1-1, 3.12) starts the series opener against the visitingKansas City Royals on Friday night.