Shields sets sights on old job

It’s the eighth inning, the Angels have a slim lead and are looking for someone to bridge the gap to closer Francisco Rodriguez. Does Scot Shields get the ball?

Perhaps, Mike Scioscia said Sunday, though the manager would not go so far as to say Shields had reclaimed his setup role after his impressive outing Friday against Cleveland.

Shields called his second consecutive scoreless appearance, in which he bailed Rodriguez out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the ninth inning and then pitched a scoreless 10th, more of a step in the right direction than a confidence boost “because I never lost my confidence through this stretch.”

The right-hander said he was particularly encouraged by the command of his breaking ball, which had been spotty over a previous 12-game stretch in which he had given up 17 runs in 9 1/3 innings.

“The last outing I felt back to my old self,” Shields said. “I was able to locate the ball a lot better and I threw some pretty good breaking balls.”

So, is Shields ready to reclaim the setup role he lost to Justin Speier?

“I hope so,” he said. “It’s a spot I want to be in. It’s better for the team that I got out of that role for a little while, but hopefully I can take that role back.”

--

Mike Napoli was back in the starting lineup, about a month later than he initially expected after straining his right hamstring July 27, but he wasn’t about to proclaim himself the everyday catcher.

“I’m not going to say that I deserve to play over Jeff [Mathis],” Napoli said. “But I like being in the lineup, yeah.”

Asked how he would delegate playing time between the two catchers, Scioscia said he would probably “have to fold [Napoli] in a little more slowly than just to throw him out there every day” because it would take him a while to regain stamina.

Napoli at first thought he could return in two weeks before suffering a setback last month when he experienced discomfort while running and had to delay his recovery. Mathis has emerged as a dependable fill-in, batting .333 this month to raise his average to .243.

“Jeff has stepped up and played terrific baseball since Mike’s been out, and we don’t have to commit one way or the other” Scioscia said. “We’re going to need them both, and we’ll see how they fold in. What it comes down to is whoever is going to play better.”

Napoli was hitless in three at-bats Sunday, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning, grounding into an inning-ending double play in the fourth, striking out with runners on first and second in the sixth and striking out in the ninth.

--

Former Huntington Beach Marina High standout Daric Barton’s three-run homer propelled the Sacramento River Cats to a 4-2 victory over Salt Lake in the decisive fifth game of the Pacific Coast League playoffs. Sacramento, which won the final three games in the Pacific Conference finals, will play New Orleans in the championship series. Bees infielder Brandon Wood and outfielder Terry Evans will be recalled Tuesday when the Angels open a series in Baltimore. . . . Center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. got a second consecutive day off and was replaced by Reggie Willits. . . . Bartolo Colon was activated from the disabled list and could be inserted in the rotation this week.

--

ben.bolch@latimes.com