Prospect Matt Thaiss hits first home run in Angels’ 10-7 exhibition win over Royals
The Angels beat the Royals 10-7 on Friday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. The Angels are 5-3 in Cactus League play.
AT THE PLATE: First base prospect Matt Thaiss hit his first home run of the spring, a solo shot to right field that led off the third inning and tied the game 5-5. In his first five games, he is batting .615 (eight for 13) with six extra-base hits and nine RBI. “He’s hitting the ball well,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “Hit that [home run] ball about as hard as we’ve seen a ball hit all spring.”… Projected opening day starters Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun, Zack Cozart and Jonathan Lucroy all logged extra-base hits. Trout also drew two walks. Calhoun hit a triple. … Two-way player Jared Walsh, who pitched a clean inning nearly 24 hours earlier, keyed the Angels’ game-winning rally in the seventh when he swatted a two-run double into the left-field wall for a 9-7 lead.
ON THE MOUND: Starter Forrest Snow was not rattled by the first-pitch home run he allowed to Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi. Snow allowed two more hits but struck out the side. Over two innings, he allowed four hits and struck out four batters. … Hansel Robles, who last year provided value down the stretch with a fastball that ramped up to 100 mph in September, allowed five straight batters to reach without recording an out in the third. He gave up a three-run home run and an RBI single in one inning of work. “I’m not really worried about the scoreboard,” Ausmus said. “He was attacking with his fastball early and then he mixed more. I liked what I saw.” … It took until the third outing of the spring for prospect Jake Jewell to run into a spot of trouble. He gave up a run on three hits in the fourth inning but was ultimately absolved of blame. Jewell had not allowed any batters to reach in his previous two innings. Jewell, the Angels’ fifth-round draft pick in 2014, was in the middle of his third relief appearance for the Angels last season when his ankle shattered on a play at the plate. He required season-ending surgery.
EXTRA BASES: Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was scheduled to hit 15 pitches soft-tossed to him by a coach in the batting cages for the first time in his rehab from elbow ligament replacement surgery. He began taking swings off a tee only a week ago. When asked if Ohtani was ahead of schedule, Ausmus joked, “He’s patient zero, so he doesn’t really have a set schedule. He is making the schedule for future Shohei Ohtanis.” … Matt Harvey will make his spring debut in a “B” game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday morning. The Angels scheduled the game, which will be played on the back fields of Tempe Diablo Stadium, to allow Harvey to catch up to his fellow starters. He was slowed for three days the first week of camp by a glute strain and didn’t throw his first live batting practice until earlier this week.
UP NEXT: The Angels will face the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. PST. Right-hander Jaime Barria is scheduled to start. TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 830.
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