Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward has struggled to find the same results he achieved at the plate last season, leading him to spend considerable time in the batting cage before the team’s home game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif.
Ward went into the game with one hit and 13 strikeouts in his previous 27 at-bats in eight games with an overall average of .176. Contrast that to last season, when he hit .246 with an OPS of .748. This season, that’s 624.
So Tuesday, he hit off an Angels’ minor league pitcher the club brought in specifically to throw to Ward. He is expected to be back in the cages on Wednesday before the second contest of the three-game series between the clubs.
Ward seemed to respond to the extra work, blasting a two-run homer 419 feet to center field in the first inning in the Angels’ 8-3 win off Blue Jays starter Jose Urena.
“He hit some of them pretty good and some of them he got beat,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of the approximately 40 pitches thrown to Ward. “That happens, whether you’re swinging good or not.
“It was just to get him some extra stuff. Instead of seeing 45 or 50 (mph from a coach), he saw some 90, 92, 93, 94 with some breaking stuff and some changeups. He didn’t know what was coming. He had to make adjustments. That’s what it’s all about.”
The idea of bringing in a minor league pitcher, which Washington applied last season a few times, might be something other struggling Angels hitters should consider, according to skipper.
“If you ask me, we should have had the whole team out here,” Washington said.
As a team, the Angels have the lowest average in the American League, hitting .216.
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 4.21 ERA) will start on the mound Wednesday for Los Angeles, hoping his eighth start will translate into his first victory in an Angels uniform. Kikuchi, who signed a three-year, $63 million contract in the offseason, has not pitched horribly. He has three quality starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his seven starts.
Kikuchi is 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA in three career starts vs. Toronto, his former team. He made 86 appearances (21-22, 4.48 ERA) for the club from 2022-24.
Right-hander Jose Berrios (1-1, 3.98), who will make his eighth start of the season for the Blue Jays, is coming off a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox despite pitching well enough to win. He allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight and walking one in Toronto’s 4-2 win last Thursday.
He is 3-5 with a 5.64 ERA in 10 career starts against the Angels.
Like the Angels with Ward, the Blue Jays are counting on right fielder Anthony Santander to return to form. Signed to a five-year, $92.5 million deal in the offseason, Santander hit 44 home runs in 2024 for the Baltimore Orioles. Despite hitting a homer on Tuesday, his average stands at .180 to go with five homers, 13 RBIs and a .597 OPS.
“He walks into the clubhouse like a guy who hit 44 home runs every day,” Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said. “Nothing ever changes with him or his work ethic. We talk about work ethic all the time and I think about it every time I say, ‘These guys are the hardest-working guys,’ but Tony’s routine and his commitment to being the best he can possibly be is as good as it gets.”
–Field Level Media
