Angels’ bottom of the order hits bottom
Reporting from Oakland — The bottom four spots in the Angels’ batting order had become something of a black hole of production in the first five games of this trip.
Left fielder Juan Rivera entered Saturday’s game against Oakland hitting .200 on the trip — and he was the hottest player among the Nos. 6-9 hitters, who were collectively batting .096 with no home runs and one run driven in in the Angels’ last five games.
Perhaps it was no coincidence that the Angels had averaged only 2.4 runs and lost four of five games in that span.
“If you have only a couple of guys in your lineup swinging the bat well,” Manager Mike Scioscia said, “you can only pressure teams every third inning basically,”
The only thing the Angels’ bottom-of-the-order hitters had been pressuring was their own pitching staff with their inability to score runs.
First baseman Paul McAnulty had hit .071 since being promoted last weekend from the minor leagues, with nine strikeouts in 14 at-bats.
Catcher-first baseman Mike Napoli was batting .167 on the trip, with no extra-base hits.
And then there was Kevin Frandsen. The third baseman, hitting .056 this month, was given the day off after his batting average dipped below .300 for the first time since joining the Angels in early May.
“I don’t have a hit on this road trip, I know that,” said Frandsen, who is hitting .296.
Milestone home run
Torii Hunter’s two-run home run in the eighth inning Friday was the 250th homer of his career, but there is another milestone that would excite the center fielder more.
“All I want is a ring now,” he said, referring to a World Series title. “It’s kind of cool, a nice plateau — 250 home runs is something I can tell my grandkids I have accomplished. At the same time, I’m all about that ‘W.’ I need to win.”
Hunter, in his 12th major league season, said he has become a better hitter as his career has progressed as far as on-base percentage, recognizing pitches and drawing walks.
“The power has always been there,” he said, “I just didn’t know how to use it. I swung at everything.”
Does Hunter, 34, have another 250 homers left in him?
“I probably have 150 in me,” he said. “Two-fifty? I don’t know. It depends on how long I play this game.”
Short hops
Angels minor league prospect Mike Trout announced on his Facebook page that he would be promoted to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga after playing in the Futures Game on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium. The Angels would not confirm the move. The center fielder hit .362 with six homers and 39 runs batted in in 81 games for Class-A Cedar Rapids. … Reliever Jason Bulger still has not resumed playing catch after suffering a setback in his recovery from the strained shoulder that landed him on the disabled list June 12. “He’s got some things in his shoulder that are a little banged up,” Scioscia said, “but hopefully he’ll be able to keep his strength where he needs to and be able to pitch with it.” … Reliever Brian Stokes, on the disabled list because of shoulder fatigue, is throwing every other day as he continues to build stamina.
ben.bolch@latimes.com
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
