Angels’ Danny Espinosa hopes he’s found his groove after a slow start to season

Danny Espinosa entered Tuesday with three hits in 25 plate appearances this season, his first as an Angel. For his fourth hit, he bunted his way aboard in the second inning.

Then, as the Angels trailed in the ninth inning, he saw a Sam Dyson sinker headed toward the outside part of the plate, waited, and hammered it for an opposite-field home run that sparked his team’s rally.

“That was probably the best swing I’ve seen him take,” teammate Mike Trout said.

Espinosa doubled his season hit total on the night by shooting a single into right in the 10th inning. The second baseman said he inched closer to the feeling he’s been seeking.

“It’s one of those things where my timing has been hit and miss,” Espinosa said before Wednesday’s game. “I’ve been working on getting that timing. If I’m on time, I don’t have to cheat. I just stuck to my approach both those at-bats.”

He said film study has helped him understand his mistakes.

“Sometimes you wonder, ‘Why I am a tick late? I feel like I’m starting on time,’ ” Espinosa said. “And then you watch the video, and you say, ‘OK, I’m not on time. I’m not getting started when I want to get started.’ It might just be something like that. Sometimes it’s just a feeling.

“I don’t want to start my swing early. I just want to get ready early. That, for me, helps.”

Bailey to the DL

The Angels placed right-hander Andrew Bailey on the 10-day disabled list. Manager Mike Scioscia said he came to the team Wednesday reporting discomfort and was diagnosed with inflammation in his right shoulder.

After a turbulent spring, Bailey appeared in three of the Angels’ first eight games, and threw three perfect innings. He was awarded the win twice, including in Sunday’s comeback over Seattle.

Bailey, 32, underwent shoulder reconstruction surgery in 2013 and required two years to return to the majors. When his hometown Philadelphia Phillies released him last summer, he signed a minor league deal with the Angels and impressed while closing games in September. The Angels re-signed him for one year and $1 million in November.

“We want to be very conservative with Andrew,” Scioscia said. “He threw the ball so well coming back at the end of last year. We want to get him back there. So we’re gonna let him settle in and hopefully get his shoulder where it needs to be.”

In his stead, they recalled right-hander Daniel Wright from triple-A Salt Lake, where he had made one start and gave up 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Wright, 26, debuted in the majors last season and logged a 6.13 earned-run average in nine appearances. Scioscia said he likes the slider he updated during the spring. Wright is one of several possibilities to start Saturday in Kansas City, in the rotation vacancy created by Garrett Richards’ absence.

Short hops

Richards said he has not resumed throwing and the team does not have a planned day for him to do so. He had said he hoped to start throwing again Tuesday after exiting his first start of the season because of a biceps strain. Scioscia said the Angels remain confident Richards is “moving in the right direction.” … Right-hander Cam Bedrosian said his excited fist pump after Trout’s homer-saving catch in Tuesday’s 10th inning was the most emotion he had ever displayed on a major league mound.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura