Scioscia Meets With Escobar, Catchers

Mike Scioscia summoned Kelvim Escobar, Mike Napoli and Jose Molina into his office Tuesday for one of those meetings the manager occasionally calls to make sure pitchers and catchers are “on the same page.”

That’s a challenge with Escobar, though, because the right-hander’s page is more of a broadsheet, large enough for Escobar’s five pitches -- sinking fastball, split-fingered fastball, slider, curve and changeup, all of which pitching coach Bud Black describes as “above-average, major-league” offerings.

But after Escobar was rocked for eight runs and nine hits and walked five in 4 2/3 innings of Sunday’s 9-7 loss to Arizona, extending his winless streak to eight starts, there is some concern that Escobar’s vast repertoire might be too much of a good thing at times.

“Sometimes it gets tough for catchers to call the game because I throw so many pitches and can throw off-speed stuff on any count,” Escobar said. “They don’t want me to get beaten with my No. 3 and 4 pitches. You have to make them beat you with your best stuff.”

That requires Escobar, Napoli and Molina to identify as early as possible which pitches are most effective that night. For example, Escobar’s splitter, usually a devastating strikeout pitch, hasn’t been as sharp in his last three starts, but he has probably leaned on it a little too much.

“He’s going to throw the fastball more than any other pitches, so the use of the other pitches goes on a night-to-night basis,” Black said. “He has to identify what pitches he needs to go to in crisis situations. That’s tough because that could change on any given night.”

*

Garret Anderson, two hits shy of 2,000 but mired in an eight-for-51 slump that has dropped his average from .289 on June 10 to .263, was scratched from Tuesday night’s lineup because of stiffness in his lower back.

Anderson, who has played all season with a painful strained arch in his left foot and sat out five games in May because of a sore left hamstring, tweaked his back while rounding third during the Angels’ game-winning, five-run rally in the eighth inning Monday. He was not available Tuesday and was listed as day to day.

“A lot of it is related to the foot,” Scioscia said. “His gait ... you compensate for one area, and it shows up in another.”

*

Before Anderson was scratched, Scioscia shuffled his lineup, moving Maicer Izturis into the second spot, Orlando Cabrera from second to third -- ahead of Vladimir Guerrero and Anderson -- and dropping Kendry Morales to the eighth spot.

The changes were made with the intention of adding another table-setter (Izturis) to the top of the lineup and taking advantage of Cabrera’s hot bat -- the shortstop’s first-inning infield single extended his consecutive on-base streak to 55 games, equaling the fourth longest since 1960.

“It’s a subtle switch,” Scioscia said, “but until we see some more depth in the lineup, we have to look at creative ways to add depth.”