Angels send Matt Shoemaker to triple A and are down to four starters
Angels starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker reacts after giving up a three-run homer to Mitch Moreland of the Texas Rangers in the third inning.
The Angels’ stable of starting pitchers, once expected to be eight men strong, is down to half that.
On Sunday, the team optioned right-hander Matt Shoemaker to triple-A Salt Lake after an unsatisfactory April, and will go without a fifth starter for the next two weeks. The Angels would not commit to recalling Shoemaker the next time they need another starter, on May 14.
“We’re going to see where we are in a couple weeks,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.
When left with only four starting pitchers two seasons ago, the Angels opted to have reliever Cory Rasmus make six short spot starts down the stretch rather than call up an inferior minor league option.
That is again a possibility, albeit one with which Scioscia indicated he was not comfortable.
“We have some contingencies to try to go out and get the production we need to win games,” Scioscia said. “But when you talk about starting pitching depth, we are certainly counting on Matt to pitch to his potential. It hasn’t been there yet.”
Shoemaker, 29, broke out in 2014, with a 3.04 earned-run average in 27 games and a remarkable 16-4 record. Since then, he has had a 5.08 ERA in 156 big league innings.
He has struggled to locate his fastballs low in the zone, the strategy he rode to success in his rookie season. He has proven susceptible to big, quick innings. He said Saturday night, after recording seven outs and yielding seven runs in his latest poor start.
“Mentally, I’m always strong,” Shoemaker said Saturday night. “I know that for a fact. I’ve battled my whole career trying to get here. I’m still mentally strong, but it doesn’t help. It’s just something else you have to battle through.”
Short hops
- The Angels placed outfielder Craig Gentry on the 15-day disabled list with a right lumbar spine strain, retroactive to April 26. He first felt spasms in his lower back Saturday morning.
To replace him, the team called up 31-year-old journeyman Shane Robinson from triple-A Salt Lake. Signed at the end of spring training, Robinson had hit .306 over 16 minor league games. Scioscia called his skills “very comparable” to Gentry’s.
Robinson started in left field and hit ninth Sunday. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Angels placed left-hander C.J. Wilson on the 60-day DL. He will be out for at least another month.
- Scioscia said Albert Pujols will play first base Monday in Milwaukee, with no designated-hitter slot available. The Angels have not yet decided what Pujols will do for the remaining two games in the National League ballpark.
Twitter: @pedromoura
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