CLEVELAND — As it turns out, Nolan Schanuel began to answer the skeptics only after he stopped trying. The Angels rookie first baseman made a splash in the majors last season, even though he’d been drafted less than two months before his big league debut. Critics, however, often pointed out that Schanuel hadn’t shown the power that a first baseman normally has. Although Schanuel said publicly that he wasn’t worried about that, he now admits that he changed his approach at the start of the season. “I was pulling off the ball, trying to hit homers,” Schanuel said this weekend. “A giraffe is not ..read more

CLEVELAND — Reid Detmers’ season has lately turned in the wrong direction. The Angels left-hander gave up seven runs in a 7-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, a second straight disappointing outing after beginning his season brilliantly. Detmers had a 2.12 ERA after his first five starts, but he’s allowed 12 runs in the last two games to double his ERA, to 4.24. “It was a poor performance,” Detmers said. “No other explanation. Four walks. A lot of hits. Just didn’t execute very well.” The Angels also lost catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who came out of the game with a right hand contusion ..read more

CLEVELAND — After he was released by a third team within a year, Amir Garrett was pitching in Triple-A with the Angels when he got some career-altering advice from an old friend. Garrett, a 32-year-old left-hander who broke in the majors as Joey Votto’s teammate with the Cincinnati Reds, said Votto gave him the message he needed to hear last month. “You’re too good not to be in the big leagues,” Votto told Garrett. Votto went further and told Garrett that he needed to stop pitching defensively. “Don’t be scared to get hit,” Votto told him. “Throw the ball over the plate like I’ve seen you at y ..read more

CLEVELAND — José Soriano had only three strikeouts in the six innings he pitched in the Angels’ 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night, but two of them were particularly memorable. In the second inning, with the game still scoreless, the Angels had just made an error to put a runner into scoring position. Soriano struck out Gabriel Arias swinging at three consecutive knuckle curves, ending the inning. In the fifth, with the bases loaded and two outs, Soriano struck out Andres Gimenez on three pitches, getting him looking at a sinker and a splitter and then whiffing him on a k ..read more

CLEVELAND — Journeyman Willie Calhoun found himself hitting in the cleanup spot in his first game with the Angels on Friday. “I took some names and put them in a hat and shook them up and he came out fourth,” Manager Ron Washington said. After the assembled media chuckled, Washington added: “Seriously. You think I’m joking.” Washington went on to explain that he actually wrote some names on pieces of paper and threw them on his bed. He also had Jo Adell and Logan O’Hoppe in the mix. Those players have each shown some power in the major leagues and gotten off to solid starts this season, but Wa ..read more

CLEVELAND — The door is open for Mickey Moniak. When Mike Trout went down with a torn meniscus, Moniak became the Angels’ primary center fielder, at least against right-handed pitchers. After struggling in limited playing time for much of the first month, Moniak is going to get an extended chance to show if he can repeat what he did last year. “I just didn’t feel my best,” Moniak said, referring to the start of the season, “but over the last week, definitely feel like I’m back where I need to be and ready to go.” When Moniak’s thoughts about his progress were relayed to Manager Ron Washington ..read more

ANAHEIM — Just when the Angels found enough pitching to slow down the Philadelphia Phillies, they couldn’t find a big hit. The Angels wasted a solid performance on the mound in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon. Starter Patrick Sandoval gave up both runs on a second-inning single, but then he didn’t give up anything else through five innings. Four Angels relievers then shut out the Phillies. The problem, however, was that the Angels couldn’t come through in numerous opportunities to score, both against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler and the relievers who followed him. The only run w ..read more

ANAHEIM — At around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Kevin Pillar was an unemployed baseball player, sitting at home in Arizona, playing with his son. Then his phone rang, and within five hours he was in the clubhouse at Angel Stadium, with a spot on the Angels’ roster. “It’s kind of a crazy day, but exciting,” Pillar said Wednesday, before he started in left field for the Angels. Pillar, a 35-year-old who is in his 12th major-league season, was released over the weekend by the Chicago White Sox. He had been at home waiting for an opportunity when Mike Trout’s torn meniscus provided one. Pillar is a fit ..read more

ANAHEIM — Mike Trout fought back tears as he stood in front of reporters and described the latest blow to a career that has gone painfully off track. The Angels’ three-time AL MVP center fielder learned on Tuesday that he has a torn meniscus in his left knee, which will require surgery that will cost him a significant chunk of the season. Although the Angels expect him back sometime this season, there is no timeline for how soon. “It’s tough,” Trout said, struggling to compose himself to find the words. “It’s just frustrating, going through it.” The injury seemingly came out of nowhere. Trout ..read more

ANAHEIM — Aside from a nice cake decorated with an image of the 1970s version of Ron Washington on a baseball card, what the Angels manager really enjoyed about his 72nd birthday was the way the Angels gave him a victory. The Angels snapped their four-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, sprinkling in plenty of the fundamentals that Washington so loves to see. “We played the game of baseball tonight,” Washington said. “It’s a beautiful thing to watch when you execute. We are capable of executing. We just have to find the consist ..read more