Kole Calhoun, Angels teammates feeling pressure to produce with Mike Trout out

The night it became clear that Mike Trout would miss more than month because of a torn thumb ligament, right fielder Kole Calhoun fielded questions from reporters about the state of the Angels.

“Guys are gonna have to pick it up around here,” Calhoun said Monday, seemingly speaking of himself.

This season, Calhoun has struggled more than ever before in his professional career. On Thursday, he produced the best game of his season. The left-handed hitter launched two home runs, both against left-handed pitchers, both on first pitches. The first was to the opposite field.

“Sometimes it takes you facing a lefty to get you back to hitting to the whole field,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Calhoun, 29, hit .158 with a .533 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in May after averaging a .768 OPS from 2013 to 2016. He carried a .207 average into Thursday’s game, and a sub-.100 average against left-handed pitching.

But he said he had recently started to feel as though he was finding his way.

“I mean, he’s probably right,” Calhoun said of Scioscia. “Left-on-left matchups, at least personally, you slow it down a little bit and try to see the ball a little bit more.”

Without Trout, Scioscia has used Calhoun as his No. 2 hitter, before Albert Pujols.

Street delayed a week

Injured Angels reliever Huston Street had been scheduled to make the last appearance of his rehab assignment Thursday or Friday for Class-A Inland Empire and expected to be activated Tuesday in Detroit.

Instead, Street will not pitch for another week, and will miss the Angels’ upcoming six-game road trip to Detroit and Houston. He has been bothered all week by triceps soreness that arose after he threw a scoreless inning for triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.

“My triceps was very stiff Monday after my outing,” Street said. “We just didn’t get it quite where we wanted it to be to go out and pitch on Friday. I would call it a very little setback, more like a small bump, not like an injury.”

Street, one of 27 relievers to register 300 or more saves in MLB history, said he did not expect to regain the closer role when he returned to the team. Bud Norris has handled the job for most of the season, and Cam Bedrosian, another closing candidate, is due to return from injury on Tuesday, ahead of Street.

“I haven’t even asked the question,” Street said. “My honest standpoint is I’m gonna come back and go pitch and just earn my way back into the ninth. Their job will be to decide what role best fits the team.”

Bourn signed

The Angels on Friday finalized a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Michael Bourn and installed him in their triple-A lineup. He’s an option to play center field in Mike Trout’s absence.

Bourn, 34, is a two-time All-Star who spent this season with Baltimore’s triple-A affiliate. He hit .264 with a .685 OPS in 413 plate appearances split between Arizona and Baltimore last season.

Short hops

Scioscia said he was not considering using Luis Valbuena as a late-innings defensive replacement when Jefry Marte starts at first base against left-handed pitchers. Marte, an inferior defender, missed a popup in Thursday’s ninth inning, which sparked Minnesota’s game-winning rally. … In the Angels’ annual pregame cow-milking competition Friday, reliever Blake Parker beat Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar.

Staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this report.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

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