Angels starter Dan Haren has pitched better than the record shows
Dan Haren has a respectable resume as an Angel.
He has one complete game and has pitched at least seven innings in three of his five starts. His 3.44 earned-run average is the second lowest among the Angels’ regular starters.
And yet, he remains stuck on one victory.
Haren’s lack of success is largely attributable to a lack of run support; the Angels have averaged 2.6 runs in games the right-hander has started.
“All in all he’s pitched good baseball for us,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said after the Angels’ 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Angel Stadium. “We just need to support him a little better.”
Haren, 1-3 with the Angels after going 7-8 with Arizona before being traded, refused to pin his record on his teammates, even on a day they managed only one run and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
“By no means is it the offense’s fault,” Haren said. “I’m the one who went out there and gave up four runs and nine hits. The loss gets pinned on me. It’s my job to have them score less than we do.”
Catch, if you can
The emergence of catcher Bobby Wilson and the rapport that catcher Mike Napoli has built with Haren have resulted in less playing time for Jeff Mathis.
Mathis was out of the starting lineup Sunday for the fifth time in nine games since returning from a five-game absence caused by sore ribs. Napoli has caught three of Haren’s five starts as an Angel, with Haren compiling a 2.74 ERA with Napoli behind the plate.
Scioscia said Mathis’ struggles at the plate since returning in June from a broken wrist — he was hitting .324 before the injury but .178 since — were “less of a factor in whether he’s going to play” as opposed to other issues.
“I think trying to get into his game and his rhythm has been a challenge for Jeff,” Scioscia said. “He’s starting to catch a little better behind the plate, he’s definitely throwing the ball a bit better. On the offensive side, obviously he’s struggled with some things.
“But we’re still going to match up and he’s going to be a big part of it.”
Double trouble
Third baseman Alberto Callaspo is hitting .306 but has only two extra-base hits — both doubles — in 72 at-bats since joining the Angels last month.
The biggest reason for his power outage became apparent when he took a seat at his locker Sunday afternoon, his left wrist heavily wrapped.
“I can’t swing too hard or it gets sore,” said Callaspo, who injured the wrist in early July during a swing against the Angels when he was still playing for Kansas City. “But I’m going to be OK.”
Short hops
A day after his first four-hit game of the season, Hideki Matsui was out of the starting lineup. Scioscia said he wanted Bobby Abreu to serve as the designated hitter so that Abreu could “get off his feet a little bit.” Juan Rivera took Abreu’s spot in left field. Abreu and Rivera went a combined one for seven. . . . Scioscia said he argued with umpire Joe West that Erick Aybar should have been safe in the third inning Saturday night if Aybar arrived at first base before third baseman Jose Bautista’s throw, which Aybar inadvertently knocked out of first baseman Lyle Overbay’s glove. West ruled that Aybar was out because he was running inside the baseline.
ben.bolch@latimes.com
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