Anderson to Play Despite Struggles

Although Garret Anderson is batting .198 against left-handed pitching, Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Friday he had no plans to platoon his left fielder.

“We need him to hit lefties the way he can,” Scioscia said. “There’s a lot of things this club desperately needs on the offensive side. You want to give it the time it needs to materialize.”

The season is halfway over, with no evidence of Anderson’s usual ability to hit left-handers and right-handers equally well. Anderson, a three-time All-Star, entered the season with career averages of .300 off right-handers and .295 off left-handers.

In 197 at-bats off right-handers this season, he is hitting .284 with seven home runs and 29 strikeouts. In 91 at-bats off left-handers, he is hitting .198 with no home runs and 25 strikeouts.

“It’s tough to discount what Garret has done against lefties his whole career,” Scioscia said. “You’re talking about 90 at-bats as opposed to 12 years. His bat speed is there.”

Anderson, 34, has played this season with a strained arch in his left foot. He took himself out of Friday’s lineup because of what Scioscia said was a strained left hamstring that could be related to the foot injury. Scioscia said the hamstring injury did not appear to be serious.

“He’s not 100%,” hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said of Anderson. “That’s all I can say. I think he’s more frustrated than anybody.”

Said Scioscia: “He’s been trying to search for a comfort level in the box. When a hitter’s legs and feet and lower extremities are hurting, it’s tough to get comfortable in the box.”

Scioscia said he considered those conditions “manageable.” He has dropped Anderson in the lineup, he said, to ease the burden on him. On Friday, against left-hander Barry Zito, Anderson would have hit seventh, for the first time since 1999.

Anderson said the arch injury does not affect him differently when he swings against left-handers compared with right-handers. Since the injury is not expected to resolve itself until the off-season -- through lengthy rest and/or surgery -- Anderson said he saw no point in taking himself out of the lineup for a week or two.

“I took three weeks off in spring training,” he said. “It still hurts.”

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Orlando Cabrera’s streak of reaching base ended at 63 consecutive games, leaving him in sixth place on the all-time list. Ted Williams set the record with 84 consecutive games in 1949, followed by Joe DiMaggio with 74 in 1941, Williams with 69 in 1941 and 65 in 1948 and Bill Joyce with 64 in 1891.

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The Angels signed South Korean pitcher Young-Il Jung, 18, for a $1-million bonus, the Korea Times reported. General Manager Bill Stoneman said the Angels’ international scouts have “talked about something in that neighborhood” for a Korean prospect but said he had not received a signed contract. Jung struck out 23 in a 13-inning high school game in April, according to the report.