Angels keep it going against Mariners
Reporting from Seattle — The Angels continued to trend upward Friday night, their 7-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Safeco Field giving them six wins in seven games and pushing them over the .500 mark (29-28) for only the second time this season.
They have weathered the loss of first baseman Kendry Morales so far, going 5-1 with 39 runs, 11 home runs and 62 hits in six games without the slugger who broke a bone above his left ankle last Saturday.
Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer in the second inning and an RBI single in the third. He also walked in the sixth, singled in the eighth and has reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances.
Matsui, who was mired in a deep slump for much of May, is 18 for 46 (.391) with three homers and 12 runs batted in over his last 13 games, raising his average from .224 on May 19 to .265.
“He looks the same, but the pitches he was missing a couple of weeks ago, he’s squaring up now,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Matsui. “His timing is there, he’s seeing the ball better, and his balance is there. He’s been very productive.”
Juan Rivera added a solo homer, and Howie Kendrick had a two-run double in a three-run seventh that helped secure the win for Joe Saunders, who gave up one run and eight hits in six innings to the same team that torched him for seven runs and 10 hits in 41/3 innings Sunday in Anaheim.
Saunders, who was 1-5 with a 7.04 earned run average after six starts, is now 4-6 with a 4.78 ERA, and the left-hander improved to 6-0 with a 1.20 ERA in Safeco Field since 2008.
But the strong start by Saunders, who was backed by three double plays, and a seven-run bounty, obscured for at least one night the nagging problem at the back of the bullpen.
Before the game, Scioscia reiterated that Brian Fuentes is his closer, despite the mountain of evidence supporting a change at the position.
Fuentes has a 5.93 ERA, and right-handed hitters have five home runs in 38 at-bats against him.
The left-hander has converted seven of 10 save opportunities and has looked shaky in several of the games he has closed.
What makes Scioscia’s loyalty to Fuentes more perplexing is that the Angels have a better option in right-hander Fernando Rodney, who is 4-0 with a 2.95 ERA in 24 games and converted 37 of 38 save opportunities for Detroit last season.
Rodney has an overpowering 96-mph fastball. Fuentes has a 90-mph fastball and an assortment of breaking balls and off-speed pitches that haven’t fooled many hitters. He gave up a two-run homer to Willie Bloomquist in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 5-4 win over Kansas City.
“Tito will be the first to say he’s missed some spots and that command has been an issue,” Scioscia said of Fuentes, who led the major leagues with 48 saves last season. “But he was really good for a long time last year, and if that emerges, we’ll have a good bullpen. If it doesn’t emerge, we’ll consider changes.”
Scioscia would not put a timetable on how much longer he’ll wait for the 2009 Fuentes to “emerge,” but his patience with Fuentes, who seems more suited for the role of left-handed relief specialist — he has held lefties to a .118 average — has to be wearing thin.
Of course, Fuentes’ ineffectiveness is only part of the team’s bullpen woes. Angels relievers entered Friday with a 5.07 ERA, which ranked 13th in the American League.
“But you can’t look at the back of the bullpen and say that’s the reason we’ve struggled as a team,” Scioscia said. “I know the whole of our bullpen will work together better if Tito gets his act together as closer. It’s a situation we’re evaluating. ...
“Tito has given up home runs. That comes with missing spots, getting behind, and not being as crisp with his fastball command. Guys have gotten decent looks at him, and if that continues, he’ll have to bring his secondary pitches into games more.”
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