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Clips

(April 14, 2017)

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Today’s Clips Contents

FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

Angels could face extended period with Garrett Richards on the disabled list

Angels lose 8-3, with another poor effort by a starting pitcher

As Royals mourn Yordano Ventura, Angels still remember Nick Adenhart

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 6)

Angels’ bullpen gets a breather as Rangers’ Yu Darvish dominates

Angels Notes: Garrett Richards’ absence creates opportunity for J.C. Ramirez

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 10)

Angels confident pitching will turn around

Ramirez gets start in place of Richards

Nolasco struggles as offense kept in check

Ramirez makes first career start in KC

Trout needs a nickname as great as he is

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 15)

Yu Darvish dominates, Texas Rangers pound Angels again, 8-3

FROM ESPN.com (Page 17)

Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (biceps) to remain on DL

FROM SPORTING NEWS (Page 19)

Garrett Richards to miss more time with arm injury, per report

April 14, 2017 Page 3 of 19

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Angels could face extended period with Garrett Richards on the disabled list

By Bill Shaikin

The Angels do not plan to activate ace Garrett Richards from the 10-day disabled list when he is eligible

Sunday. Richards has not yet been cleared to resume throwing, and reliever JC Ramirez will replace him

in the rotation Friday.

Manager Mike Scioscia said a “best-case scenario” would involve Ramirez pitching well and earning

another turn five days later.

Richards has not played catch since he was diagnosed last week with what the team called a strained

biceps. He has not pitched in eight days and could require more time to rebuild arm strength and/or

complete a minor league rehabilitation assignment, depending on when the Angels’ medical staff clears

him to resume throwing.

“They’ll let us know when he’s ready to pick up a ball,” Scioscia said. “The longer he’s out, obviously,

there would be more rehab involved.”

The Angels’ playoff chances imploded last season when injuries forced the team to field a patchwork

rotation that included veterans such as Tim Lincecum and David Huff. Richards is the key to the Angels’

rotation.

Richards, 28, was limited to six starts last season because of a torn elbow ligament. He successfully

rehabilitated the elbow with injections of stem cells and platelet-rich plasma, avoiding the need to

undergo reconstructive surgery and sit out a season. Although the biceps strain forced him to leave his

first start this season, the elbow appeared sound in a subsequent MRI examination.

Ramirez, 28, will make his first start since 2011, when he was in double-A with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Since then, he bounced through four other organizations before the Angels claimed him on waivers last

June.

When he signed his first pro contract, as a 16-year-old from Nicaragua, he said he envisioned himself as

a starting pitcher in the major leagues. He had all but abandoned that goal along the way, but the Angels

directed him to work as a starter in winter ball and tried him as a starter in spring training.

Now, he gets his chance to do what he imagined himself doing a dozen years ago.

“Dream come true,” he said.

Scioscia said that the Angels would monitor how the bullpen responds without what he called the

“multi-inning power arm” of Ramirez. The Angels’ bullpen has worked more innings than all but

one American League team.

April 14, 2017 Page 4 of 19

“We’ll pay attention to where this goes in the next couple weeks,” Scioscia said. “If he lights it up as a

starter and helps us win games, great. We have to keep our finger on the pulse of our whole pitching

staff.”

Angels lose 8-3, with another poor effort by a starting pitcher

By Bill Shaikin

Mike Trout is still here. The offense is pretty productive, notwithstanding the Angels’ 8-3 loss Thursday

to the Texas Rangers. There is no shame in getting shut out by Yu Darvish for seven innings.

But the Angels this year will go as far as their starting pitching can take them, and the early results are

not encouraging.

The Angels’ starters have a 6.00 earned-run average — the highest in the major leagues, as of Thursday

afternoon. Throw out the one scoreless start from ace Garrett Richards, who is on the disabled list with

no timetable for his return, and the Angels’ starters have a 6.60 ERA.

“You’re not going to finish well if that’s going to be the rule of how they’re going to pitch,”

Manager Mike Scioscia said.

The individual numbers: Jesse Chavez 5.40, Ricky Nolasco 5.40, Matt Shoemaker 7.71, Tyler Skaggs 8.71.

First up to replace Richards: JC Ramirez, a reliever with a career ERA of 5.14.

The Angels are so strapped for fresh bullpen arms that they called up Daniel Wright from triple-A Salt

Lake on Wednesday, let him throw the final four innings Thursday, then sent him back to Salt Lake.

Ten games does not a season make. The Angels have won six, leaving them tied with the Houston

Astros atop the American League West. Nothing is doomed.

“These guys are going to pitch better,” Scioscia said. “We know that. They’re going to pitch deeper into

games, and they’re going to give us the quality starts we’re looking for.”

The Angels have one quality start this season, ranking last in the major leagues. Nolasco threw it last

week.

“No excuses,” Nolasco said, “but it’s April 10, 11, something like that? We’re confident in the ability of

each of the five guys getting the ball. We’ll get there.”

Nolasco has pitched 16 2/3 innings this season and given up five home runs. No pitcher in the league has

given up more.

On Thursday, he pitched five innings and gave up five runs on eight hits, including a leadoff home run

to Carlos Gomez in the first inning and a two-run shot by Nomar Mazara in the third inning.

The Rangers scored once off Nolasco in the first inning, twice in the second and twice more in the third.

April 14, 2017 Page 5 of 19

“That’s on me,” Nolasco said. “I put us in a really tough position against a really good pitcher.”

Darvish worked seven innings, giving up five hits and two walks, with 10 strikeouts.

The Angels were down to their last out when they finally scored, on a three-run home run by Danny

Espinosa. Of his eight hits this season, three are home runs, all in the ninth inning.

Espinosa played last year for the Washington Nationals, where Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and

Tanner Roark head the rotation.

“Not every team has three of those guys,” Espinosa said. “But we have some very good pitchers. … We

have the pitching. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. But it’s not the fact that we don’t believe in our

pitching. I think we have a lot of trust and belief in our pitching.”

As Royals mourn Yordano Ventura, Angels still remember Nick Adenhart

By Bill Shaikin

The Angels will face a team in mourning this weekend. Sadly, they can relate.

The Kansas City Royals held their home opener this week, a traditionally joyous occasion that this year

carried a somber tone. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by the mother of Yordano Ventura,

the Kansas City pitcher killed in a car accident in January.

Eight years ago, the Angels navigated a season without Nick Adenhart, the pitcher killed in a car accident

after his first start of the year. If the Angels’ experience is any indication, the Royals could find

themselves grieving for some time.

“It was tough,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s still difficult, when you think about a family that has all

their holiday dinners and there’s an empty chair. That’s who’s really affected the most. We lost a friend

and we lost a player, and you feel like he’s your son when these guys are on the team. It took some

time. It took a lot of time.”

Even in their time of mourning, the 2009 Angels won the American League West by 10 games and

advanced to the league championship series.

“That group of guys was a special team in ’09,” Scioscia said. “They embraced Nick’s family. They

embraced honoring Nick in a lot of different ways, from bringing his jersey with us on the road to going

out when we clinched to where his number was on the wall and taking a team picture. Those were

special moments.

“During the season, it wasn’t a topic of conversation. Everyone dealt with pain in their own way.

Occasionally, his name would come up. We would ask about the family, and we would talk. It took a long

time. They somehow got their focus back on winning and playing baseball, and we were able to get into

the ALCS that year, but not without a lot of heartache. It just takes time.”

April 14, 2017 Page 6 of 19

The last of the 2009 players to remain with the Angels — pitcher Jered Weaver, who named his son after

Adenhart — left the team as a free agent last winter. Still, eight years later, the Angels have not

forgotten.

“Believe me, we pray for Nick and his family,” Scioscia said. “Every year, we take a collection in spring

training and give it to his foundation. We have an award for our best pitcher in his honor. As difficult as

it is, these are some ways we try to cope with it and try to move on. It takes time. We have great

memories of Nick and the type of kid he was. It’s always going to be with us.”

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER .

Angels’ bullpen gets a breather as Rangers’ Yu Darvish dominates

By J.P. HOORNSTRA

ANAHEIM — Mike Scioscia was asked Thursday morning if he’s “anywhere near” being concerned with the

heavy workload placed upon the Angels’ bullpen.

No, the manager said, not 10 games into a season.

Scioscia then managed a game against the Texas Rangers like a man intent on saving his bullpen. He

succeeded in that task, but the Rangers won, 8-3, before an announced crowd of 30,255 at Angel Stadium.

“If you’re not going to win,” Scioscia said, “it’s important to be ready to reload for the next game.”

Only a three-run home run by Danny Espinosa in the ninth inning separated the Angels from their first

shutout loss of the season.

Starter Ricky Nolasco allowed five runs in five innings, then handed the ball to right-hander Daniel Wright.

Wright, who was summoned from Triple-A Salt Lake a day earlier, finished the game despite allowing a

double, a single, two walks and throwing a wild pitch before recording his first out.

The 26-year-old right-hander was charged with three runs in four innings. He was optioned back to Salt

Lake after the game. Wright wasn’t told outright that he needed to finish the game, but he understood the

task before him.

“The game, how it was, I knew I was going to be out there a little while,” Wright said.

The Angels’ brief reign atop the American League West ended after five days. They are 6-4, even with the

idle Houston Astros. Now they will embark on a trip of seven games in the next seven days, beginning with

three in Kansas City and ending with four in Houston.

The Angels can take solace in having a relatively rested bullpen, and the fact that few pitchers will be as

dominant as Yu Darvish was on Thursday.

April 14, 2017 Page 7 of 19

Darvish, who missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, did not allow a run over

eight innings. Blending a four-seam fastball in the mid-90s, a curveball in the mid-70s, a slider in the low

80s and a cutter for good measure, Darvish limited the Angels to five hits — all singles. The towering right-

hander walked two batters and struck out 10.

“It seemed like he was ahead in counts and making pitches when he needed to,” Espinosa said.

The Angels’ best chance to do damage against Darvish came in the eighth inning.

Mike Trout singled on the first pitch of the inning and went to third base on Andrelton Simmons’ one-out

single. Cameron Maybin then grounded into an inning-ending double play. By then, the game was well out

of reach.

Prior to Espinosa’s three-run blast against reliever Mike Hauschild, the Angels were 0 for 9 with runners in

scoring position.

Nolasco (0-2) allowed a home run to Carlos Gomez on his second pitch of the game, a rare midweek,

midday start. Texas tacked on two more runs in the second inning on an RBI double by Robinson Chirinos

and an RBI single by Jurickson Profar. Nomar Mazara’s two-run home run in the third inning made it 5-0.

“It’s tough to do that to our offense, to give up so many runs early against a guy like Darvish,” Nolasco said.

“I just put us in a really tough position against a really tough pitcher.”

Nolasco was five days removed from a six-inning no-decision against the Seattle Mariners — the longest

effort by an Angels starter this season. Among American League teams, the Angels have required the most

innings (38) from their bullpen this season.

In the macro view, the forces at work against the Angels’ pitching staff seem daunting.

The franchise has drafted only one pitcher this decade — Michael Roth — who went on to start one game

in an Angels uniform. (Matt Shoemaker, who starts Saturday, went undrafted after his final year of

college.) Their other current homegrown starter, Garrett Richards, is on the disabled list with a

troublesome biceps injury.

Friday’s starter, J.C. Ramirez, last started a game in 2011 when he was pitching for the Phillies’ Double-A

affiliate. That’s a rare story in baseball, though perhaps less unlikely considering the Angels’ track record of

drafting and developing pitchers.

In any event, Ramirez’s track record puts the Angels in a bit of a bind. The most innings he’s pitched this

year was a five-inning Cactus League start on March 21.

In the micro view, Nolasco said, “it’s April.”

“Everybody’s still getting feels,” he said. “No excuses but … we’re confident in each one of the five guys

taking the ball every day. We’ll get there.”

April 14, 2017 Page 8 of 19

Angels Notes: Garrett Richards’ absence creates opportunity for J.C. Ramirez

By J.P. HOORNSTRA

ANAHEIM — Garrett Richards’ growing misfortune has turned into an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for

teammate J.C. Ramirez. More than that, Ramirez said, starting a game for the first time as a major leaguer

Friday is “like a dream come true.”

The Angels might call on Ramirez more than once.

Richards, who strained his right biceps in his first start of the season April 5, was expected to have

started playing catch by now. Not only hasn’t Richards picked up a baseball since the injury, Angels

manager Mike Scioscia said there is no set time frame for that to happen.

Richards is eligible be activated from the 10-day disabled list Sunday, but that ship has sailed. The right-

hander won’t travel with the Angels on their seven-game trip through Kansas City and Houston and figures

to miss at least two starts.

“The best-case scenario is that J.C. pitches really well Friday, we win a game and give him the ball five days

later,” Scioscia said.

Ramirez has pitched 111 games out of the bullpen in a career that’s taken him through Philadelphia,

Arizona, Seattle, Cincinnati and now Anaheim. He was 1-3 with a 6.40 earned-run average in 27

appearances when the Reds placed him on waivers last June.

The Angels, who were fifth in the waiver priority line at the time, scooped up Ramirez and sent him to their

bullpen. He fell behind in the count a little less and used his slider a little more. In 43 games as an Angel,

Ramirez went 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA.

“I got more of a chance, got more confidence,” he said. “That’s why I’m a better pitcher now.”

By the end of the season, the Angels were convinced Ramirez could be more than a one-inning set-up

man. On the final day of the 2016 season, Scioscia told him not to play winter baseball in the Caribbean.

Ramirez would be going into spring training as a candidate for the starting rotation.

A starting pitcher in the minors from 2006-11, Ramirez said he’d abandoned the dream of starting years

ago.

“When they told me last year that they’re going to try to be a starter in spring training, I was surprised,” he

said. “I still had some question marks in my mind about it. But when I threw a lot of innings in spring

training, I thought ‘yeah, I can do that. I just need to get used to it.’ I got about facing the lineup the second

time, I think was the hard part. Just make that adjustment.”

April 14, 2017 Page 9 of 19

TRAGIC PARALLEL

The Royals began the season 2-6 entering Thursday night’s game against the Oakland A’s. The team is still

mourning the loss of starting pitcher Yordano Ventura, who was killed in a car crash in the Dominican

Republic in January. He was 25.

Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was 22 when he died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in April

2009. A previously scheduled home game the following day was postponed, and the Angels won just three

of their next nine games.

Scioscia said it’s still difficult for him to reflect on the tragedy and its effect on Adenhart’s family.

“It took a lot of time,” Scioscia said. “That group of guys was a special team in ’09. They embraced Nick’s

family, they embraced honoring Nick in a lot of different ways — bringing his jersey with us on the road,

going out when we clinched, going out to where his number is on the wall and took a team picture.

“It wasn’t a topic of conversation. Everyone kind of dealt with pain in their own way. Occasionally his name

would come up, they would ask about the family and we would talk. … We were able to get in the ALCS

that year, but not without a lot of heartache.”

INJURY UPDATES

Infielder Luis Valbuena and pitcher Andrew Bailey will remain in Anaheim when the team flies to Kansas

City.

Valbuena, on the DL with a strained right hamstring, has been running, hitting and taking ground balls this

week. Valbuena still has room for progress running the bases before he can be activated, Scioscia said.

Bailey is on the 10-day disabled list after experiencing aches and weakness in his shoulder Sunday. The

veteran right-hander said an MRI on his right shoulder Wednesday confirmed the diagnosis of

inflammation.

Bailey didn’t receive a cortisone shot, but said that “a couple days” of rest and anti-inflammatory

medication ought to be enough to reduce his inflammation.

“It’s definitely scary,” said Bailey, who missed the entire 2014 season recovering from shoulder surgery,

“but I knew it wasn’t so serious.”

Pitcher Nick Tropeano, on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, said he’s

playing catch from up to 70 feet.

April 14, 2017 Page 10 of 19

FROM ANGELS.COM

Angels confident pitching will turn around

By Steve Dilbeck / Special to MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- It was the suspected weakness going into camp, at the start of the regular season and even

now after the Angels have opened with a 6-4 record.

Do they have enough starting pitching?

Theirs is a rotation without an ace, without a true No. 2 starter, and some might argue, even without an

obvious No. 3 man.

Ten games into the season, the Angels' rotation is 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA -- the worst in Major League

Baseball.

"We have a lot of confidence that they'll turn that around," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "There's

no doubt these guys are going to pitch a little deeper and more effective."

The starters have barely averaged five innings per start. The Angels are 6-4 largely because of the early

bullpen performance and an offense that engineered two ninth-inning comebacks.

Ricky Nolasco was their Opening Day starter, but he's now 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He went five innings

Thursday in an 8-3 loss to the Rangers, allowing five runs on eight hits, including two home runs. He's

given up five home runs on the season, tied for most in the American League.

"It's April. Everybody is still getting feels," Nolasco said. "We're confident in the ability of each one of the

five guys taking the ball every day. We'll get there.

"It's just a grind right now, and we're all trying to find some things. We're going to make the appropriate

adjustments."

Danny Espinosa was traded to the Angels this offseason from the Nationals, who boast a staff led

by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez.

"Not every team has three of those guys," Espinosa said. "But we have some very good pitchers.

"We have the pitching, sometimes it just doesn't work out. But it's not that we don't believe in our

pitching. We have a lot of trust and belief in our pitching."

The Angels' current rotation is Nolasco, Matt Shoemaker, Tyler Skaggs, Jesse Chavez, and now, JC

Ramirez.

Ramirez, a career reliever, is taking the place of Garrett Richards, who is on the disabled list with a

strained biceps. Richards was looking like a potential ace in 2014 when he started 13-4 with a 2.62 ERA,

but then tore his left patella tendon and has battled injuries ever since.

April 14, 2017 Page 11 of 19

"The snapshots of the first couple of times through the rotation, I think everybody can come to the same

conclusion that they're just not getting to a certain point that we need," Scioscia said. "You can absorb it

for a little bit.

"Our offense picked us up, our bullpen's picked up innings. But you're not going to finish well if that's

going to be the rule of how they're going to pitch."

Ramirez gets start in place of Richards

By Steve Dilbeck / Special to MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- An experiment the Angels flirted with in Spring Training is about to get its first test run.

Right-handed reliever JC Ramirez has been named to start Friday in place of injured righty Garrett

Richards (biceps strain). For Ramirez, 28, it will mark the first start of his career.

"I think JC has enough length in him," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "We feel that it's an

opportunity to test what we tried to do in the spring starting. He had some flashes of brilliance. It will be

a good opportunity for him."

Ramirez came up in the Minors as a starter, but he was converted to a reliever by the Phillies in 2012

and has been in the bullpen ever since.

The Angels, however, think Ramirez has potential as a starter, so they stretched him out during Spring

Training.

"We had talked about it for a while internally," Scioscia said. "JC has such a great arm that he has always

maintained his stuff through some higher pitch counts that everyone thought he was a candidate to do

this.

"The only fly in the ointment is you're taking a multi-inning power arm out of the bullpen that's already

stretched. Naturally we're going to have to pay a lot of attention to where this goes in the next couple of

weeks."

Richards injured his arm in his first start of the season and has yet to begin a throwing program. He will

not join the team on its upcoming seven-game trip.

The Halos are uncertain how long Richards will be out, meaning they don't know how much recovery

time he will need or how many starts they would like to get from Ramirez.

"I don't know," Scioscia said. "We don't have a crystal ball, but I think the opportunity for JC to pitch is

there, and hopefully he'll take advantage of it. Right now there is no time frame on how long he'll be in

our rotation. It could be the whole year."

Worth noting

Infielder Luis Valbuena remains out with a right hamstring strain and will not join the Angels on their

April 14, 2017 Page 12 of 19

next road trip. Valbuena, who was seen as the Halos' primary first baseman this season, injured the

hamstring during a spring game March 22. He was expected to be out four to six weeks.

Scioscia said Valbuena will need a rehab stint in the Minors when the hamstring proves healthy.

Valbuena has been hitting and fielding, and he began a running program.

"Depending on how his running sessions go -- which are slowly getting ramped up and more aggressive -

- we'll get some indication when he's ready to get some at-bats in the Minor Leagues," Scioscia said. "He

still has some work to do as far as running."

Nolasco struggles as offense kept in check

By T.R. Sullivan and Steve Dilbeck / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Rangers used their home-run muscle to take advantage of the Angels' starting rotation

woes and power their way to an 8-3 victory on Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium. The Rangers

finished the series taking two of three.

"After giving the first game away here, every guy stayed engaged," manager Jeff Banister said. "We

swung the bats well and were able to add on some runs late. That's something we have talked about."

Carlos Gomez and Nomar Mazara both hit home runs for the Rangers, who have now gone deep at least

once in their first nine games. The club record is 10 straight games to begin the season, done in 2009.

The Rangers have 18 home runs in their first nine games. They hit 19 in the first nine games of the 2009

season.

The home runs came off of Angels starter Ricky Nolasco, the Angels' Opening Day starter who allowed

five runs in five innings. Angels starters are now 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA after 10 games.

Rangers starter Yu Darvish was outstanding for seven innings in getting his first win of the season. He

allowed five hits, walked just two and struck out 10. Darvish had struck out just nine in 12 1/3 innings

over his first two starts.

"Some of the spin on his off-speed between his cutter and slider and curveball, the spin on it is pretty

similar but the change in speed is pretty drastic," Angels third baseman Danny Espinosa said. "He was

throwing strikes and ahead in the counts, and making pretty good pitches when he needed to."

The Rangers were one out away from a shutout, but Espinosa hit a three-run home run in the bottom of

the ninth off of reliever Mike Hauschild.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Gomez gets Rangers started: Gomez entered the game with one hit in his last 17 at-bats. But he jumped

on an 0-1 fastball and hit it out to left-center at a projected distance of 412 feet, according to Statcast™,

for his 11th career leadoff homer. Gomez is now 5-for-36 on the season, and three of his hits have been

home runs.

April 14, 2017 Page 13 of 19

"Everybody loves that, every time you start out the game 1-0 and your starting pitcher hasn't even come

out," Gomez said. "It's a different feeling. Starting the game with a home run is big."

Darvish does double: Darvish struck out 10, but he also was able to get the ground ball when

needed. Mike Trout led off the sixth with a single and went to third on a one-out base hit by Andrelton

Simmons. But Darvish kept the shutout intact by getting Cameron Maybin to hit a grounder right at

second baseman Rougned Odor to start an inning-ending double play. The Angels were 0-for-7 with

runners in scoring position off Darvish.

"In games before, we struggled sometimes in those situations," Darvish said. "We need to put zeros on

the scoreboard. I wanted to put a zero on the scoreboard and keep the momentum."

QUOTABLE

"I like the way our club continues to compete and continues to grind it out. I believe our offense is

proving we can manufacture runs, string some hits together and take some walks, and drive in some

runs without hitting the ball out of the ballpark. Because we know we've got guys who can hit the ball

out of the ballpark." -- Banister, on Rangers offense

WHAT'S NEXT

Rangers: Left-hander Martin Perez pitches for the Rangers in the opener of a three-game series with the

Mariners at 9:10 p.m. CT Friday at Safeco Field. Perez is 5-2 with a 3.26 ERA in 10 starts and two relief

appearances against the Mariners.

Angels: After 111 games out of the bullpen, right-hander JC Ramirez will make his first career start

against the Royals at 5:15 p.m. PT Friday in Kansas City. Ramirez is starting for Garrett Richards, out with

a biceps strain.

Ramirez makes first career start in KC

By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com

The Angels are back on the road and hope to take advantage of the Royals' offensive struggles in a

three-game series that begins on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Kansas City lost six of its first eight games while hitting just .199 with 24 runs scored and a .350 slugging

percentage. The Royals hit 11 home runs but were hitting .154 with runners in scoring position.

The Angels are trying to get their starting pitching in order. Ricky Nolasco allowed five runs in five

innings against the Rangers on Thursday, and Angels starters are now 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA after 10

games.

Left-hander Danny Duffy pitches for the Royals against right-hander JC Ramirez for the Angels. Ramirez

is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three relief appearances and will be making his first career start. He is filling in

for Garrett Richards, who is on the disabled list with a strained right biceps.

April 14, 2017 Page 14 of 19

"I'm just going to keep the same approach," Duffy said. "Try to get a lot of three-pitch-or-less outs. Trust

my stuff. At the end of the day, it's just your best against my best. That's my approach."

Three things to know about this game

• Duffy is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in three starts and one career relief appearance against the Angels. Mike

Trout is 4-for-9 with a home run off him and Albert Pujols is 2-for-10.

• When Duffy broke out in 2016, his four-seam fastball velocity jumped up to 95 mph from 93.7 mph the

year before, which was the second-highest average velocity among left-handed starters. But so far in

2017, his four-seamer is averaging 92.9 mph, back below his 2015 level.

• Pujols is a career .313 hitter with a .592 slugging percentage and 15 home runs in 228 at-bats at

Kauffman Stadium.

Trout needs a nickname as great as he is

Ho-hum given name doesn't fit his amazing skills

By Joe Posnanski

Mike Trout needs a nickname. I suppose technically he already has one if you want to go with the

charmingly old-fashioned "Millville Meteor," but that makes him sound like a kid who left the farm in

1933. And that's not the kind of nickname we're talking about here. Trout needs a daily nickname, one

that we use all the time, the way Earvin Johnson became "Magic," the way Eldrick Woods became

"Tiger," the way George Herman Ruth became "The Babe."

Mike Trout's name is plain. It's not a bad name, of course, but it just doesn't convey the wonder of the

player. It's hard to express wonder with a simple two-syllable name. The best sports names, it seems to

me, tend to be four syllables, usually two syllables apiece (Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Larry Czonka,

Ozzie Newsome, Elgin Baylor, etc.), though sometimes great ones are one syllable followed by three

(John Unitas, Carl Yastrzemski, Wilt Chamberlain, Joe Montana). There are plenty of great five-syllable

names -- I mean, Jackie Robinson, Darryl Strawberry, come on. And there are a lot of wonderful three-

syllable names -- Bobby Orr still seems to me the perfect hockey name.

But when you are "Mike Trout" -- two quick syllables, name ends almost before it begins -- there's a

straightforwardness, a simplicity. It's good, but it just doesn't match Mike Trout. Two syllables is fine for

Jim Brown, because his whole game and the like was unadorned, candid, unequivocal: "I will run and

you will not stop me."

Pete Rose brought some of that same two-syllable heat, headfirst dives, intensity and ferocity, but he

was often called "Charlie Hustle."

Trout is too wonderful a player for two syllables. That word: Wonderful.

On Wednesday, Trout homered again -- that was his eighth extra-base hit in nine games this year. He is

slugging .735. Trout is great again -- and of course he is.

April 14, 2017 Page 15 of 19

Trout is just 25 years old, and his career WAR is already nearly 50, which is utterly absurd, almost

beyond comprehension. By WAR measurements, he has already put up about as much value as Jim Rice

and Koufax and Whitey Ford and Lou Brock and Goose Gossage did for their entire careers.

And even if you do not buy into WAR, do not buy into any single number that tries to capture all that a

ballplayer does on the field, you still know that the things Trout does on and around a baseball diamond

are mesmerizing and glorious and remind us of the greatest players the game has ever seen -- the

Mantles and Mayses and Aarons and Gehrigs.

You still know that Trout hits for average, and he hits for power, and he steals bases, and he scores runs,

and he drives in runs, and he runs down fly balls, and he takes away home runs, and he signs all the

autographs, and he hires a skywriter to ask his high school sweetheart to marry him … and he drinks

milk, and he helps elderly people cross the street, and he hits home runs that cure sick children … and

he halts bank robberies, and he blows out forest fires, and he rescues random cats from trees, and he

will gladly reverse the rotation of the earth to go back in time and stop an earthquake.

Come to think of it, Clark Kent is another plain two-syllable name. He needed a nickname, too.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yu Darvish dominates, Texas Rangers pound Angels again, 8-3

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Texas Rangers knew it wouldn't be long before Yu Darvish had a dominant start

and got rewarded for it.

The Los Angeles Angels are still waiting for their starting rotation to do something noteworthy.

Darvish pitched seven scoreless innings and Carlos Gomez hit a leadoff homer in the Rangers'

comprehensive 8-3 victory Thursday.

Darvish (1-1) struck out 10 and limited the Halos to five singles and two walks, improving to 8-2 in his

career against the Angels. With his breaking pitches dipping precipitously, the Los Angeles lineup

couldn't do much against him.

"I had a sharp, good slider," Darvish said through a translator. "It's got a big break on it."

Darvish went winless in his first two starts of the season, thanks to a blown save and meager run

support, but he got plenty of backing at the Big A. Nomar Mazara also homered and Robinson

Chirinos drove in three runs for the Rangers, who took two of three from their AL West rivals.

"That's exactly what Yu needs to do when he goes out, and that's to pound the strike zone," Texas

manager Jeff Banister said. "He's got swing-and-miss stuff."

TEXAS ON TOP

April 14, 2017 Page 16 of 19

Except for Los Angeles' three-run rally in the ninth Tuesday to a 10th-inning victory, the Rangers

thoroughly dominated the Angels, outscoring them 16-6 in the final two games.

"Especially after that first night, giving one away, our guys stayed engaged," Banister said. "They did a

great job."

STARTING TO WORRY

Ricky Nolasco (0-2) yielded eight hits and five runs in five innings, adding to the Angels' problems with

their starters.

Los Angeles' rotation appeared to be its weak spot this season, and the first 10 games have proved it.

The Angels' starting pitchers have a 6.00 ERA while yielding 50 hits in 51 innings -- and even worse, a

starter has made it through six full innings only once all year.

"These guys are going to pitch better," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The snapshots of the first

couple of times around the order ... I think everybody can come to the same conclusion, that they're not

getting to a certain point in the game that we're going to need. You can absorb it a little bit, and our

offense picked us up. Our bullpen has picked up innings, but you're not going to finish well if that's going

to be the rule how they're going to pitch. We have a lot of confidence they're going to turn it around."

HOMETOWN HIT

Danny Espinosa hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth for the Angels, who were routed in the

last two games of their homestand after a 4-0 start. Espinosa, a native of nearby Santa Ana, has three

ninth-inning homers and 12 RBI in the first 10 games with the Angels.

"In that situation, I'm not going to give away an at-bat," Espinosa said. "It's still an important at-bat."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rangers: Right-hander Andrew Cashner appears to be ready for his first start of the season Saturday

after sitting out with soreness in his right biceps. ... Reliever Matt Bush should rejoin the Rangers in

Seattle this weekend after traveling back to Texas for an injection in his sore right shoulder.

Angels: They won't activate Garrett Richards from the 10-day disabled list when he is eligible Sunday,

and Scioscia doesn't know how long they'll be without the right-hander. Richards is out after leaving his

first start of the season with a strained biceps. He made only six starts last year before partially tearing

his elbow ligament, but elected to get stem-cell treatment and therapy instead of Tommy John surgery.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Martin Perez (1-1, 2.38 ERA) takes the mound against fellow Venezuelan Felix Hernandez in the

opener of a weekend series in Seattle.

Angels: Reliever JC Ramirez will make his first career major league start when Los Angeles opens a

seven-game road trip at Kansas City. He is in the rotation while Richards is out.

April 14, 2017 Page 17 of 19

FROM ESPN.COM

Angels right-hander Garrett Richards (biceps) to remain on DL

By ESPN.com news services

Los Angeles Angels right-hander Garrett Richards hasn't been cleared to resume throwing, and the team

does not plan to activate him from the 10-day disabled list on Sunday when he's eligible to come off.

Richards was diagnosed with a strained right biceps last week. When doctors clear him to throw,

Richards could need a minor league rehab assignment to build arm strength.

"They'll let us know when he's ready to pick up a ball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters on

Thursday. "The longer he's out, obviously, there would be more rehab involved."

Richards missed most of last season because of a partially torn elbow ligament but chose rest and stem-

cell injections over Tommy John surgery. He made it through spring training solidly but left his season-

opening start at Oakland in the fifth inning on April 5 because of pain in his arm.

He won 28 games over the 2014 and 2015 seasons but was limited to six starts last year.

Right-handed reliever JC Ramirez will replace Richards in the rotation. He will start Friday against

the Kansas City Royals.

Can these surprising teams stay hot all season?

By Mark Simon

Who would have thought it?

The Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels averaged 70 wins between them in

2016, but they’re a combined 20-8 so far this season.

The hot starts have brought considerable optimism to their fan bases. But we’re not necessarily sure

that’s fully warranted.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds have outscored opponents 48-23 in their nine games this season, an impressive beginning to

the season, with a 7-2 record that matches their 1990 start, when they won the World Series. And there

may even be a feeling of “Wait until Joey Votto gets going” given that their star isn’t even hitting .200

yet.

But there’s a lot in this win-loss record that appears abberational. Eugenio Suarez is hitting .429. He

wasn’t even a .260 career hitter prior to this season. Similar cases could be made for Zack

April 14, 2017 Page 18 of 19

Cozart (.417), Tucker Barnhart (.333) and Billy Hamilton (.306). None of them ever hit better than .260 in

a full season.

The excitement comes in the form of the youngsters in the starting rotation, such as quick-starting

rookie Amir Garrett, who has a 1.42 ERA in two starts. But they’re still asking a lot out of the likes of

veterans Scott Feldman and Bronson Arroyo, the latter of whom pitches on Thursday. The bullpen has a

1.23 ERA another number that likely won’t last, though it should be massively better than the group that

posted a 5.10 ERA, unless injuries get in the way.

The projection systems still haven’t bought in. Fangraphs pegs the Reds to go 72-90, tied for the fifth-

worst record in baseball.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Of these three teams, the Diamondbacks may have the best case for legitimacy, given the track records

of some of their most notable players -- Paul Goldschmidt, Zack Greinke and A.J. Pollock.

They’ve also taken to a strategy of sacrificing a little offense in their primary catcher, Jeff Mathis, in

return for better defensive work. Mathis ranks third among catchers in getting his pitchers extra strikes,

nearly on par with the standard-setter at the position, Buster Posey. And Mathis has hit too -- but given

that he entered the year with the lowest OPS in baseball, that probably isn’t going to last.

The question marks come largely from the starting rotation beyond Greinke (of whom there are fastball

velocity concerns). Taijuan Walker has a history of inconsistency (two seasons with ERAs of 4 or

higher). Patrick Corbin needs to show he can bounce back. Shelby Miller is coming off a 6.15 ERA and

largely diminished velocity. And Robbie Ray may be better than his 4.90 ERA showed last season, but he

has never had an ERA below 3.50.

The prediction systems still sit somewhere in the middle with this team. Fangraphs has them at 80-82.

Los Angeles Angels

There has been a bullishness to the Angels, a team has three wins when trailing entering the ninth

inning.

But let’s remember: Last season, the average team won three games when trailing in the ninth inning all

season. So this isn’t something that they can bank on as a trait that will hold consistent throughout the

season.

Positivity comes from Mike Trout and the potential to maintain the post-1.000 OPS level he’s at right

now. Any team with a player capable of a 10-WAR season is always going to have a chance, just because

that player is so much more valuable than everyone else.

But concerns are visible, particularly in the starting rotation, where there’s little depth and already one

man down (their likely ace, Garrett Richards). Their starters have a combined ERA of 5.67 and rank last

April 14, 2017 Page 19 of 19

in the majors in FIP due to because they don’t strike hitters out (26th in strikeouts per nine innings),

they walk a lot of hitters (17th in walks per 9) and allow a lot of home runs (last in home runs per nine).

So though the projections may be for 85 to 86 wins, that’s admittedly a number on highly shaky ground.

FROM SPORTING NEWS

Garrett Richards to miss more time with arm injury, per report

By Thomas Lott

After a strong start to the season, the Angels were feeling great about their prospects with a good lineup

and a rotation soon to get reinforcements with Garrett Richards' return just around the corner.

But after losing two straight to the Rangers, L.A. got less-than-stellar news about Richards, who left his

first start this season because of arm pain following a 2016 season lost to an arm injury.

The Angels were hoping to get him back without a rehab assignment. That’s not likely to happen, ESPN

reported.

Richards was diagnosed last week with a strained biceps, and when he is cleared to throw again, he will

likely require a start or two in the minor leagues before he can come back, according to the report.

"They'll let us know when he's ready to pick up a ball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters

Thursday. "The longer he's out, obviously, there would be more rehab involved."

Before injuring his arm early in 2016, Richards had gone 29-19 over his last 64 starts. He had thrown 410

2/3 innings and struck out 374 along the way with a 2.88 ERA in the process.

Apart from Richards’ one start in which he yielded no earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, the Angels have

posted a 5.00 ERA this season in 84 innings pitched.