The Angels avoided the sweep Sunday afternoon defeating the Seattle Mariners 8-0. Jered Weaver pitched seven strong innings, along with a strong offense allowed Scot Shields to pitch a successful inning of no pressure relief.
Howie Kendrick had a very good homestand and has started driving the ball and driving in base runners. Kendrick went 3-4 with a couple of doubles on Saturday. On Sunday he picked up where he left off, going 3-5 with 4 RBI and his second home run of the season.
Juan Rivera also homered for the time, driving a Jarrod Washburn pitch into the Angels bullpen.
After much waiting, discussion and some gnashing of teeth, Angel fans got to see Brandon Wood in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Wood played pepper with Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre all afternoon, finishing the day 1-4.
Kevin Baxter of the LA Times takes a look at the Angels struggling bullpen. Tony Reagins and Mike Scioscia made another tweak to the pen as Daniel Davidson was designated for assignment and Fernando Rodriguez was added to the roster.
Baxter also reports that the Angels are looking at former major leaguers pitching in the Independent leagues, hoping to find someone who can add experienced depth to the roster to take pressure off Anthony Ortega and other young pitchers who probably aren't quite ready for the big time just yet.
The thought is the Angels could sign Paul Byrd or Pedro Martinez, however it may take a while for both of them to be game ready and the club needs are more immediate.
Steve Bisheff of the LA Times takes owner Arte Moreno to task for allowing such thinking, and believes it's time for Arte to step up.
Injury updates -
John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar all took significant steps forward in their rehabilitation assignments over the weekend. Lackey & Santana will each pitch one more time in extended spring training in Arizona before heading to Rancho Cucamonga. Mike Scioscia expects to get both pitchers back before June 1, but says "How much before, I don't know."
The best news is that team orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum examined the torn muscle in Vladimir Guerrero's chest over the weekend and said he's hopeful Guerrero can resume baseball activities before the end of the week.
We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope for speedy recoveries.
Next up - Angels at Orioles for 2 games at Camden Yards.
Tuesday 4:05 pm : Joe Saunders (2-1, 3.51) vs. Adam Eaton (1-2, 7.04)
Wednesday 9:35 am : Shane Loux (0-2, 6.61) vs. Koji Uehara (2-1, 4.56)
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