Angels look to get early runs this season

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Angels were in so many close, low-scoring games last season that their starting pitchers, with little margin for error, began to feel like Philippe Petit, the French tightrope walker, every time they took the mound.

The offense ranked 10th in the American League with 667 runs and was shut out for the first five innings of games a major league-high 50 times, making the accomplishments of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, who combined for a 45-30 record and 2.98 earned-run average, all the more remarkable.

“It was never a situation where the starting pitchers resented the hitters; there wasn’t any friction,” Haren said after giving up two runs and nine hits in 52/3 innings of a 5-4 exhibition loss to Cincinnati in Goodyear Ballpark on Wednesday.

“We felt like we had a job to do, and I think we did a great job. We won 86 games. We easily could have won 90-plus games.”

They could win even more games this season if, as anticipated, they can drop the high-wire act. The addition of Albert Pujols and the return of Kendrys Morales will add two 30-home run threats to a lineup that includes Howie Kendrick, Torii Hunter and Mark Trumbo, who hit 29 homers last season.

“Albert will do his thing, Kendrys looks good so far — I would expect us to score more runs and take a little pressure off the pitchers,” Haren said. “That doesn’t mean we’ll let up on the intensity. We’ll be trying to throw up zeros.”

The Angels also went into extra innings a league-high 21 times, winning eight of those games, but Manager Mike Scioscia believes a lot of the late-inning stress can be avoided with some early cushions.

“Baseball 101 says that early runs and a margin for error translate into pitchers going deeper in games,” Scioscia said. “And they’ll have the freedom to get away with a handful of mistakes that, on a given night, won’t be as critical as they are when they’re pitching with their backs against the wall.”

Early runs can calm a pitcher’s nerves and boost his confidence.

“They make you settle down a little bit — they allow you to be a little more aggressive in the strike zone,” Haren said. “Early runs are always the best, and it will be nice to get them … but I don’t think we’ll lose that edge this year with the offense scoring more. I think we’ll keep that fire.”

Recovery day

Morales, poised to return after sitting out 11/2 years because of a broken left ankle, was fatigued after playing consecutive games and took Wednesday off.

Morales’ swing is in great shape — he’s eight for 13 with a homer — but the switch-hitter is not in baseball shape, which could require more off days early in the season.

The 6-foot-1 Morales weighs 240 pounds, eight more than his goal weight, and although he hasn’t felt soreness in his ankle, he has tired after playing two or three days in a row.

“I’ll get into better shape with time,” Morales said.

Later game times will help. The regular season, with its usual 7 p.m. starts, should be more conducive to playing longer stretches of games.

“It’s going to be easier during the season because I can rest in the morning,” Morales said. “Here, we’re up at 6 a.m. every day and have 1 p.m. games. At night, you feel a little fresher.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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