Valenzuela Rocked in 5-1 Defeat

Fernando Valenzuela continued to struggle in his attempt to return to the majors, allowing home runs to the first two batters he faced Wednesday night in a Pacific Coast League game.

Rich Amaral hit Valenzuela’s second pitch over the left-field fence and, three pitches later, Dave Brundage homered to right-center to lead Calgary to a 5-1 victory over Edmonton, the Angels’ triple-A affiliate.

Valenzuela, hoping to return to the Angels, settled down until the sixth inning, when he yielded a two-run double to Mike Blowers and a run-scoring groundout to Alan Cockrell.

Valenzuela, a left-hander, left after walking Matt Sinatro to lead off the seventh and going 1-0 on Amaral. He threw 117 pitches, 62 for strikes, and gave up five runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out five.