Kendrick Needs Work

Manager Mike Scioscia describes rookie Howie Kendrick as “a work in progress” at first base. Kendrick, a second baseman by trade, is putting in plenty of work at a position he had never played before this season. His progress has been slow.

Kendrick looked awkward moving toward the line to field Mark Kotsay’s chopper in the third inning Wednesday and booted the ball for a two-base error. That didn’t cost the Angels a run, but Kendrick’s mental lapse in the fifth inning might have.

With Marco Scutaro on second and one out, Kelvim Escobar struck out Mark Ellis on a breaking ball in the dirt that got away from catcher Jose Molina, who retrieved the ball and made a long throw to first.

But after Kendrick caught the throw, he looked to umpire Jerry Crawford for the call, failing to notice Scutaro racing around third. By the time Kendrick realized Scutaro was heading home, it was too late. Scutaro scored for a 2-1 A’s lead.

Would Kendrick have had a play if he paid attention to the runner?

“It would have been tight -- Scutaro just kept going,” Scioscia said. “Where Howie lost it is looking for the call from the umpire instead of playing baseball. I don’t know if that’s so much him playing first as it is being a young player.”

Kendrick tied the score with a single in the bottom of the fifth, underscoring a potential issue: How much defense are the Angels willing to sacrifice to keep Kendrick’s bat in the lineup?

Kendrick has hit in 12 consecutive games, batting .458 (22 for 48) during the streak and adding punch to a perennially power-hungry lineup. He has played outstanding defense at second but has mixed a few nice plays with some shaky play at first.

The Angels, though, aren’t ready to abandon the experiment.

“Today was a tough game -- there’s going to be a learning curve,” Scioscia said. “But if he makes the routine plays, gets to the bag on time to give the infielders a good target, he’s going to be fine. Championships have been won with lesser first basemen. We’re going to grow with Howie.”

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Mike Napoli still leads American League rookies in home runs (12), on-base percentage (.388), walks (37) and slugging percentage (.495), but the Angels’ catcher is three for 30 in his last 10 games and is hitting .169 (11 for 65) in July after batting .281 in June. In his last 14 games, Napoli has not driven in a run.

“I need to get back to what I was doing before, using all of the field, hitting to right field,” Napoli said. “I’ve been too pull-happy lately. And when I get a pitch to hit, I can’t miss it. I can’t foul it off.”

Two positives through his prolonged slump: Napoli still drew 13 walks in July, and he hasn’t taken his frustration at the plate to the field, where he has steadily improved throughout the season.

“The one thing about Nap is how well he’s doing with the pitchers, his win-loss record when he catches,” Scioscia said.

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Adam Kennedy extended his hitting streak to 16 games, a career-best, with a third-inning single.