Homer fails to ruin Dan Haren’s day

Dan Haren had given up 28 home runs in 27 starts this season, including one in each of his first four losses with the Angels, so his top priority Wednesday was to keep the ball in the park.

What happened? His second pitch of the game was smacked into the right-field seats by John Jaso, putting the Angels in a 1-0 hole.

“I told myself before the game to really try to eliminate the home run because they’ve been killing me,” Haren said. “Then the first batter hits one. That probably wasn’t the best thing to be thinking about.”

One homer didn’t spoil Haren’s day. The right-hander held one of baseball’s best teams scoreless on two singles for the rest of his six-inning effort, and the Angels’ offense erupted for 17 hits in a 12-3 win over Tampa Bay.

The 12 runs were three fewer than the 15 runs of support Haren, acquired in a July 25 trade from Arizona, got in his first six starts with the Angels.

“I told Torii [Hunter] that the four runs in the first inning was enough,” Haren said. “That makes it easier to be aggressive, and you don’t have to worry about guys on base. It was nice.”

Mental break

Erick Aybar was given the day off Wednesday after losing track of the number of outs in the second inning Tuesday night, a mistake that might have cost the Angels a run in a 10-3 loss.

“Any time a player loses track of a situation, there could be a variety of causes, and lack of focus is usually the one,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“I think it’s obvious when something like that happens, it’s a mental mistake, and you have to get to the root of what the issue is. Maybe a guy needs a day off because he’s been grinding it.”

Short hops

Joel Pineiro, sidelined for a month because of a left rib-cage strain, had another MRI on Wednesday to determine whether he is ready for the next step in his recovery, throwing off a mound. He has been long-tossing and throwing aggressively off flat ground from 60 feet. … Scioscia said Trevor Bell will remain in the rotation and start Friday night against Baltimore.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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