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Angels Young Starters Are Battling For Rotation Spots After GM Gets Fired On Friday
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- Angels Young Starters Are Battling For Rotation Spots After GM Gets Fired On Friday
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
The Los Angeles Angels had a wild weekend that began with the firing of GM Perry Minasian, but they closed things out on a positive note thanks to a good recovery start from Sam Aldegheri . The left-hander was coming off two bad starts in which he gave up a total of 11 runs over 7-2/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles , so he went back to the drawing board a bit.
"I was working on some stuff on my mechanics during the last week," Aldegheri said after throwing five innings of one-run ball against the Athletics in the Angels' 4-1 win yesterday. "And today I need a start to redeem myself after the last two, and I did it."
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Opportunities about in the Angels rotation, and Aldegheri is competing with right-hander Ryan Johnson to earn a spot while the Angels wait for starter Grayson Rodriguez to complete his rehab stint after dealing with low back tightness. Both starters are battling, but in between the bad starts there are significant signs of hope.
"I thought he pitched well today," Suzuki said when he was asked about Aldegheri in a report written by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com . "He really moved the fastball around and got fastballs in to righties, which obviously made the changeup better. I think he dropped some curveballs in early for strikes and executed with two strikes, so I thought he pitched well."
The Angels also got a couple of firsts in yesterday's win, as outfielder Josh Lowe got the first grand slam of his career and reliever Samy Natera notched the first save of his big-league career, getting four outs in the eighth and ninth to close out the win.
Lowe struggled mightily to start the season, so much so that he was sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake, but he got recalled when centerfielder Mike Trout went out with a hamstring strain.
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"I'm just continuing to do what I was working on in Salt Lake," Lowe said when asked about his power outburst. "And for the most part, it's just swinging at better pitches and being ready to hit."
Natera's save was the more significant accomplisment from the Angels' perspective. They need good bullpen arms badly, and Natera has reponded by posting an ERA of 0.96 with 12 strikeouts in 9-1/3 innings as he continues to get the call in high-leverage situations.
"Just super grateful for the opportunity to be out there and close it out," Natera said. "I was trusting what I got. Never been in that spot before, so new for me, but learned from and got comfortable later on."
