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Clips

(June 30, 2017)

June 30, 2017 Page 2 of 27

Today’s Clips Contents

FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 4)

Angels have learned something about themselves while without Mike Trout

Scioscia: Angels bullpen compares favorably to the team's 2002 'pen

FROM ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 6)

Dodgers continue homer barrage at Angels’ expense

Whicker: Angels solider on without their star (just as the Dodgers did)

Benches clear in Dodgers-Angels game after Yunel Escobar gets hit

Angels Notes: Mike Trout ready for batting practice on the field

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 13)

On the mend, Trout to take batting practice

Angels can’t solve Kershaw in finale

Unbeaten Bridwell faces M’s, free on Facebook

Ramirez runs out of steam vs. Dodgers

Angels’ Barria suiting up for World in Futures

Scioscia reminisces on Fernando's no-no

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 19)

Benches clear between Dodgers, Angels after Yunel Escobar HBP

Kershaw fans 12, Dodgers hit 3 homers to beat Angels 6-2

Angels' Bridwell continues improbable journey vs. Mariners

FROM ESPN.COM (Page 23)

Angels CF Mike Trout expected to take batting practice Friday

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (Page 24)

Mike Trout is injured, but the Angels have only improved during his absence

June 30, 2017 Page 3 of 27

FROM BASEBALL AMERICA (Page 26)

Nike unveils Mike Trout’s new footwear

June 30, 2017 Page 4 of 27

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Angels have learned something about themselves while without Mike Trout

By Helene Elliott

An oversize season schedule is attached to one wall of the Angels’ clubhouse, and it marks more than

the passage of time.

A baseball occupies the square on the day of each Angels victory, and there aren’t as many gaps

between those baseballs as you’d think there would have been during the month since

reigning American League MVP Mike Trout tore a ligament in his left thumb and underwent surgery.

Most recently, two balls were affixed to the calendar for their three-game series at New York against

the Yankees, two for winning their three-game series at Boston, one for their triumph in the Freeway

Series opener at Dodger Stadium, and another for their wild comeback Wednesday at Angel Stadium.

They didn’t expand their collection Thursday because of a 12-strikeout performance by Clayton Kershaw

and a home-run barrage that powered the Dodgers to a 6-2 victory and a split of the Freeway Series, but

they remained one game out of the second AL wild-card spot — and they can take encouragement from

knowing Trout is scheduled to take full batting practice Friday as he inches closer to returning.

The Angels could have collapsed without Trout and no one would have been surprised. He’s their heart,

their engine, their leader in every way. Throw in the fact that they have seven pitchers on the disabled

list, and their season seemed doomed.

Instead, the Angels have scraped and clawed, relying on a surprisingly effective bullpen and solid

defense to stay competitive. They’re 14-13 in June with one game left and 42-41 overall. Since a six-

game losing streak in early April their longest los- ing streak is three, and they haven’t lost that many in a

row since Trout was hurt.

Their goal was to not drop out of contention for a wild-card spot while Trout recovered. They’ve

accomplished that and have learned something about themselves too.

“Not having Mike, the best player in the world in my opinion, it was an important time for us to find our

identity,” center fielder Cameron Maybin said, “and our identity is we’re together.”

Maybin scored the Angels’ first run Thursday in a very Angel-like way: He singled, took second on a

fielding error, moved to third on a grounder and scored on Albert Pujols’ fielder’s-choice grounder. He

said those who predicted the Angels would fade after Trout exited the lineup didn’t account for the

extent that adversity has strengthened players’ bonds.

“This is a very selfish game that we play, and I’ve been on a lot of teams that guys aren’t always playing

for each other,” said Maybin, who leads the AL with 24 stolen bases, almost one-third of the Angels’

major league-leading 74 steals. “And the amount of character that this clubhouse con- tinues to exude,

June 30, 2017 Page 5 of 27

and just seeing guys just genuinely want to see the next guy succeed and be successful, I think that’s

why we’ve been able to, like I say, shock the world. ...

“Character in a clubhouse is very important. It’s huge. And I think this is the reason why we’ve been able

to weather the storm. It hasn’t always been great, but we haven’t been on a lot of bad skids. We’ve

been able to keep our head above water, so to speak, and con- tinue to play good baseball.”

Reliever Huston Street, who’s working his way back into the bullpen mix, also praised the Angels’

resilience within games and during their time without Trout.

“This team has done a fantastic job,” Street said. “You pretty much can put this season in one context:

Mike Trout’s injury. And you saw the way guys reacted.”

But there’s a lot of season left, as Street noted. “And, I think, you don’t want to get too excited about a

nine-game stretch where you play well,” he said. “But I think it’s a testament to this team, which is

young in time in the big leagues, maybe not age. We’ve got some up-and-coming guys who are really

starting to show themselves.”

The Angels have shown they can be competitive. Trout’s return should allow them to put a lot more

baseballs into those remaining calendar squares.

“I always call Trouty the humble superstar,” Street said. “He’s the perfect superstar. Trouty just fits in. I

think he’ll just come back and be a huge stoke to the fire. I don’t think people will relax.”

Scioscia: Angels bullpen compares favorably to the team's 2002 'pen

By Steve Dilbeck

If at first blush the comparison seemed a slight stretch, Angels manager Mike Scioscia thought it a

perfect appraisal.

Did the current bullpen depth remind him of the 2002 Angels’ bullpen, probably the best the team has

ever had and one of baseball’s top units in the last 20 years.

“I think it’s a great comparison,” Scioscia said. “The wild card was [Francisco] Rodriquez coming up the

end of September and all of a sudden being thrown onto a playoff roster and eventually being moved

back to pitch in front of Troy Percival.

“I don’t know if we have that dynamic that will take place, but if you look at Keynan Middleton and how

he’s evolved, there’s no doubt his stuff plays in the back. You look at a Blake Parker getting an

opportunity and throwing the ball well and you can compare him to a lot of those middle relievers in ’02

that were vital to our success that year.”

The champion ’02 Angels bullpen featured not only Percival and Rodriguez but also Brendan

Donnelly, Ben Weber and Scott Schoeneweis. Right-hander Scot Shields was like the sixth reliever.

June 30, 2017 Page 6 of 27

The current Angels bullpen features Cam Bedrosian, Huston Street and, expected back soon, Bud Norris.

All have been utilized as closers. There’s rookie Middleton throwing in the upper 90s, Parker with 51

strikeouts in 35 innings and veteran David Hernandez reviving his career after being designated by

the Atlanta Braves.

“Part of how remarkable our bullpen has been not only is how well they’ve performed but how often

they’ve been used and still continued to perform well,” Scioscia said. “And the multi-roles that all the

guys have pitched in. Guys hold leads that maybe typically weren’t holding leads in the past.”

The Angels bullpen ranks sixth in the majors in innings pitched.

Trout ready for BP

Scioscia said that Mike Trout, sidelined after left thumb surgery, took full swings in the indoor batting

cage and will be on the field to take regular batting practice Friday.

“He swung the bat 100% and said it feels good,” Scioscia said.

“It’s an important step. [Friday] he’ll hit on the field, get his batting practice underway and see how he

responds.”

After Trout had surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule May 31, the Angels

estimated that he’d be sidelined for at least six weeks.

Short hops

Right-hander Matt Shoemaker (right forearm strain) had his bullpen session scratched because he was

sick. Scioscia said it would be rescheduled once he feels better. ... Norris (right knee inflammation)

threw a scoreless rehab inning for Class-A Inland Empire, striking out the side. He did not walk a batter

and gave up one single, throwing 17 pitches. … General manager Billy Eppler said that an ultrasound

on Tyler Skaggs showed no swelling in his right oblique and that the left-hander would resume his

throwing progression. … Shortstop Andrelton Simmons did not start, taking a scheduled day off. …

Friday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners will be streamed live on Facebook.

FROM ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Dodgers continue homer barrage at Angels’ expense

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — JC Ramirez seemed to be on his way to his second consecutive strong start to finish an

otherwise difficult month.

Then the Dodgers abused him in a way they’ve been abusing pitchers all month.

June 30, 2017 Page 7 of 27

Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley and Joc Pederson hit homers in a span of eight batters, snapping a tie in the

Dodgers’ 6-2 victory over the Angels on Thursday night before a divided, raucous sellout crowd of 44,807

at Angel Stadium.

The Dodgers raised their June homer total to 50, most for any month in franchise history. They broke the

record of 49, set by the Brooklyn Dodgers in two separate months in 1953.

“I think we have a lot of good hitters,” Pederson said. “Hitting’s contagious.”

The barrage of homers turned the night quickly for Ramirez. The Angels’ starter had allowed just one

unearned run in the first four innings.

After Utley’s homer, the second solo shot of the fifth, made it 3-1, the Dodgers had enough runs, with

Clayton Kershaw on the mound.

The Dodgers ace was sharp, as usual, allowing just an unearned run in seven innings. He allowed three hits

and struck out 12.

“Tonight was another step in the right direction,” Kershaw said. “I threw everything pretty decently, a few

fastball mistakes, but overall I’ll take tonight for sure.”

In the fifth inning, he narrowly missed what would have been his first career “immaculate” inning: three

strikeouts on nine pitches. He struck out the first two batters on six pitches, but his 0-and-2 pitch to Cliff

Pennington was just high. He struck Pennington out on his 10th pitch of the inning.

That was a decisive shutdown inning in between the two innings in which the Dodgers grabbed a

comfortable lead.

In the sixth, Justin Turner singled and Cody Bellinger doubled. With one out, Pederson hit a hanging slider

over the right-field fence, extending the lead to 6-1.

Ramirez said he couldn’t get his curve to work, which left him in a difficult spot, forced to only use his

slider and sinker to lefties. Both break in to the lefties.

“I just couldn’t get ahead with my curveball,” Ramirez said. “I tried everything I could, but I didn’t have it

today. That was a game-changer for me.”

The record-breaking 50th homer – with one game left this month, on Friday in San Diego – was Pederson’s

sixth homer in the past 16 games, since he returned from a concussion.

Two batters later, Puig hit a ball off Ramirez’s leg, and that ended his night.

Ramirez was charged with six runs in 5-2/3 innings, ending a June in which he posted a 7.04 ERA. Ramirez

had struggled for most of the month, but he felt he had turned a corner when he gave up one run in six

innings last time out, against the Boston Red Sox. The rough month has raised his season ERA from 3.38 to

4.60.

June 30, 2017 Page 8 of 27

“It’s been pretty hard,” Ramirez said. “I hope July will come with good things.”

Ramirez would have needed to be at his very best to outduel Kershaw.

The only run the Angels scored against the left-hander came courtesy of two Dodgers mistakes.

After Kershaw faced the minimum nine Angels in the first three innings, he gave up a leadoff single to

Cameron Maybin in the fourth. Left fielder Trayce Thompson muffed the ball, though, allowing Maybin to

take an extra 90 feet to get into scoring position. Kole Calhoun then moved him to third with a ground ball.

With the infield drawn in, Albert Pujols hit a routine grounder to shortstop Corey Seager. Maybin was

going on contact, forcing Seager to make a quick, accurate throw. His throw was up the first-base line, and

Maybin slid home safely.

The Angels didn’t sniff another run while Kershaw was in the game.

“As good as he was early, he turned it up a couple notches,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He just

has that ability where sometimes things might not go right, and the great pitchers that I’ve seen have a

way of taking it into their own hands and ramping up the intensity.”

After Kershaw was out, the Angels threatened. In the eighth, they had the potential tying run at the plate.

With one out, Manager Mike Scioscia called on Luis Valbuena to pinch-hit with the bases loaded against

Brandon Morrow, picking him even though he had Andrelton Simmons available. Valbuena struck out.

Scioscia explained that he liked the matchup with Valbuena there, because he had the potential to draw a

walk – he swung at a 3-and-1 pitch that might have been ball four – or hit a homer. Scioscia also said he

had other plans for Simmons.

“We just never got to some of the things that could happen,” Scioscia said.

It is possible that Scioscia wanted to save Simmons to bat against closer Kenley Jansen if the inning had

continued. Simmons is 3 for 5 with a homer in his career against Jansen.

Jansen came in and finished the eighth, retiring Martin Maldonado on a long flyout, and then the Angels

didn’t get a baserunner against him in the ninth.

Whicker: Angels solider on without their star (just as the Dodgers did)

By Mark Whicker

ANAHEIM — The sky fell on the Angels on May 28.

Actually it was a meteor that landed on Mike Trout’s thumb.

They were 26-27 when it happened. They figured to be all the way underwater, and maybe stuffed in

some old pirate’s trunk, when he returned.

June 30, 2017 Page 9 of 27

Instead the Angels came into Thursday night’s game with a 16-13 Trout-free record, and they were only

one game out of the second American League wild-card spot.

“What those guys over there have done without him speaks volumes,” said Dave Roberts, the Dodgers

manager, as he looked across the Angel Stadium diamond.

“When you talk about not letting a guy beat you, scouting, lengthening the lineup, it completely changes

things when he’s not there.”

“It’s very comparable to where we were.”

He knows. A year ago this week, the Dodgers were pinned beneath the same asteroid.

Clayton Kershaw lost to Pittsburgh on June 26. A bad disc in his back took him to the disabled list and

promised to take the Dodgers into the nearest abyss. They were already eight games behind San Francisco

in the NL West race.

This was serious because whenever Kershaw burped, the Dodgers took Pepcid. In 2014 they won 23 and

lost four in Kershaw’s starts, which is why a starting pitcher won the MVP Award.

Now what?

The next time Kershaw’s turn came up, Bud Norris pitched six two-hit innings against Colorado and won, 5-

0. The Dodgers got to the All-Star break only six games behind.

As Giants fans began to worry about the playoff roster, the headless horsemen from the south began

riding.

“I didn’t say anything to the guys,” Roberts said. “Sometimes the best things go unsaid. They knew what

was at stake. Everyone knew he had to give a little more. There were excuses, but they weren’t having any

of it. When they’re saying the right things, you know you don’t have to say much.”

By the time Kershaw returned on Sept. 9, the Dodgers led by four games and clinched the division title on

the next-to-last weekend. One prediction did hold: The final three games of the regular season were

meaningless, as the Dodgers lost them all to the Giants.

“I don’t know what it means long term,” Roberts said. “But I do think it has had a carry-over effect from

last year to this year.”

Going into Thursday, the Dodgers were 102-64 since Kershaw went down. Whatever psychological

dependence they had on their left-hander had been dispelled. This is not to say they don’t value him

deeply. This year they are 14-2 when he pitches even though, as Roberts acknowledged, “we haven’t seen

his best stuff yet.”

But this is not the NBA. The best hitter comes to the plate 11 percent of the time. The best starting pitcher

appears 35 times out of 162. There is a 40-man roster and a full cast of minor league players and an

June 30, 2017 Page 10 of 27

opportunity to trade. Unless you suffer a plague at one position, or unless your closer goes down, a

baseball team is more injury-proof than any other team in pro sports.

“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you,” pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. “I’m glad we don’t have to face

Trout this week. But the Angels have done a good job relying on their pitching and defense and they’ve

started a lot of runners and been active. You fall back on playing the game right.”

The Dodgers didn’t play perfect baseball when they ran down the Giants. They were 15-9 in July, 15-13 in

August and 17-10 in September. In fact, the Dodgers’ pitchers had an awful 1.53 WHIP in August, second-

worst in the league.

Their offense did rescue them, with Joc Pederson’s .900 OPS and Justin Turner’s .890 after the All-Star

Game. But they didn’t have a winning streak longer than five games. They just played solidly, and they got

adrenalin boosts from strangers who just happened to wander into their clubhouse and fixed things like

FEMA representatives, guys like Rob Segedin and Andrew Toles and Grant Dayton.

And it helped that the Giants began a disintegration that, too, has continued.

By Aug. 21, a week before they would play the Giants again, the Dodgers were in first place for good. They

had proven to themselves that they could walk and breathe without Kershaw. They proved it to Kershaw,

too.

“From his standpoint, he could just relax and not push it,” Honeycutt said. “You can’t do more than you

can do. You can’t hit a three-run homer with no one on base.”

No, injuries don’t help. But sometimes when the sick part heals, the body of work follows.

Benches clear in Dodgers-Angels game after Yunel Escobar gets hit

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — At one point on Thursday night, the field at Angel Stadium mirrored the stands. Red and blue,

all mixed together, emotions overflowing in the heat of the moment.

It all started in the eighth inning, after Angels’ third baseman Yunel Escobar was hit by a pitch from the

Dodgers’ Brandon Morrow.

Escobar, who had been rather animated in drawing two walks earlier in the game against Clayton Kershaw,

obviously suspected the Dodgers were throwing at him.

After he was hit, he pointed to his own dugout and began talking, and it became clear he was upset.

Gradually, players from both dugouts and both bullpens poured onto the field, although no punches were

thrown, no one was ejected and order was restored in a few minutes.

Escobar, who rarely speaks to the media, declined a request from reporters on Thursday night.

June 30, 2017 Page 11 of 27

Manager Mike Scioscia said it would have been a “strange situation” to hit someone intentionally, because

it loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate.

“It’s tough to see what the intent was,” Scioscia said.

The Dodgers were not shy about giving their interpretation of the events.

Morrow said he’d been unaware of the Escobar-Kershaw interaction earlier in the game.

“From the bullpen we can’t see that stuff and obviously the situation wouldn’t be a good situation to put

somebody on base there,” Morrow said.

Kershaw added: “I get it, you’re mad about getting hit, but read the room a little bit and realize we aren’t

trying to hit you.”

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who was warming up at the time, said the whole incident was an

unnecessary distraction.

“I think that’s stupid, man,” Jansen said. “Nobody’s going to fight. Just the stupidity of major leagues, when

it goes to a brawl like this. I wish this could be over with. If you want to go 1-on-1, go 1-on-1. You can meet

somewhere else. Nobody’s going to fight.”

Angels Notes: Mike Trout ready for batting practice on the field

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — Mike Trout took a big step toward returning to action, with another coming up on Friday.

Trout swung at 100 percent effort in the batting cage on Thursday, clearing the way for him to take his first

swings on the field on Friday, Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“He progressed from soft toss to letting some swings out, which is an important step,” Scioscia said.

“Tomorrow he’ll hit on the field and start to get his batting practice underway and see how he responds.”

Trout is just over four weeks removed from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb. The initial

prognosis was for him to return six to eight weeks after the surgery, so it seems he’ll be in the early end of

that window.

Trout needs to take batting practice on the field against coaches for a few days, and then see some

velocity from a pitcher. Presumably, he’d then need a few games in the minors.

ALMOST BACK

Bud Norris pitched a scoreless inning for Class-A Inland Empire on Thursday night, with three strikeouts.

That could be his only outing in the minors before coming off the disabled list. Norris has been out less

than two weeks because of right knee inflammation.

June 30, 2017 Page 12 of 27

When Norris returns, the Angels bullpen is going to be even deeper and more versatile. Norris was the

closer when he got hurt. Cam Bedrosian, Huston Street, Yusmeiro Petit and David Hernandez have all

recorded saves for the Angels, and Keynan Middleton has certainly pitched well enough to be in the mix

for the ninth inning eventually.

“Having another arm who can pitch holding leads or in close games is definitely something that’s going to

help us,” Scioscia said. “Bud Norris is another guy we want to add to that mix. We’ll welcome that and we

need it.”

ALSO

Tyler Skaggs, who last week had a setback in his rehab from a strained oblique, underwent an ultrasound

on Thursday in Southern California and was cleared to resume his throwing program, General Manager

Billy Eppler said. The Angels had hoped Skaggs could return by next weekend, but they are now targeting a

return later in July. …

Matt Shoemaker was sick on Thursday, so his scheduled bullpen session was pushed back. Scioscia said

he’s unsure when Shoemaker will be back. After he throws a bullpen session, the Angels will likely set him

for a rehab assignment before he can return to the rotation. …

Andrelton Simmons was not in the Angels’ lineup on Thursday, with a pre-determined day off. The Angels

have had the fewest off days in the majors, so Scioscia said he wants to make sure his players get a chance

to “catch your breath.” …

Andrew Heaney is leaving for Arizona on Saturday to begin the next phase of his rehab from Tommy John

surgery. Heaney is expected to spend at least a month there, throwing and facing hitters in minor league

games. …

Right-hander Jaime Barria, arguably the Angels minor leaguer having the best season, has been selected as

the organization’s representative for the Futures Game, to be held on Sunday, July 9, as part of the All-Star

Game festivities in Miami. A native of Panama, Barria was selected for the World team roster. Barria, 20,

began the season at Class-A Inland Empire, and was promoted to Double-A Mobile. He has a combined

ERA of 2.12 over 85 innings with the two clubs. He has allowed 61 hits, to go with 73 strikeouts and 16

walks. …

Right-hander Troy Scribner was selected for the Triple-A All-Star Game, which will be July 12 in Tacoma.

Scribner is 9-2 with a 4.29 ERA at Salt Lake City. …

Brandon Marsh, one of the Angels’ top prospects, sprained his thumb sliding head first into a base on

Wednesday night with Rookie-level Orem. So far, the Angels don’t believe Marsh needs surgery, Eppler

said. He’s listed as day to day. Marsh, the Angels’ second-round pick in 2016, was off to a 15-for-30 start at

Orem. …

Thursday marked the 27th anniversary of the day that Fernando Valenzuela pitched the second no-hitter

of the day in the majors, following Dave Stewart, then with the Oakland A’s. Scioscia, who caught

June 30, 2017 Page 13 of 27

Valenzuela’s game with the Dodgers, said Valenzuela watched the end of Stewart’s game in the video

room with him, and made a prediction. “You saw one on TV, and now you’re going to see one in person,”

Scioscia recalled Valenzuela saying. “Then he walked down to the bullpen. And he threw a no-hitter.” …

Friday’s Angels game will be shown live via Facebook, the latest in a weekly series of MLB broadcasts

streamed live. To view the game, go to facebook.com/mlb.

FROM ANGELS.COM

On the mend, Trout to take batting practice

By Joe Trezza / MLB.com

Recovering from a broken right thumb, Mike Trout is scheduled to take batting practice on the field

Friday before the Angels host the Mariners.

The reigning American League Most Valuable Player had surgery just more than four weeks ago to repair

a torn ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule in his right thumb after he injured it sliding into

second base. The Angels initially estimated he'd be out six to eight weeks.

Trout, who was hitting .337/.461/.742 at the time of his injury, has already taken batting practice

indoors. Hitting on the field represents the next step in a rehab process that would likely include several

Minor League games.

"He swung the bat 100 percent and said it feels good," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, according to

ESPN. "It's an important step [Friday]. He'll hit on the field, get his batting practice underway and see

how he responds."

The Angels are 16-13 without their superstar center fielder.

Angels can’t solve Kershaw in finale

By Ken Gurnick and Kaelen Jones / MLB.com

LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw became MLB's first 12-game winner with 12 strikeouts in seven innings

Thursday night, while Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley and Joc Pederson homered in the Dodgers' 6-2 win over

the Angels that split the four-game Interleague Freeway Series.

The Dodgers -- who have 53 wins at the halfway point of their schedule -- have won the last 11 starts by

Kershaw (12-2), who allowed one unearned run on three hits with two walks and lowered his ERA to

2.32. He struck out the side twice and at one point fanned five consecutive batters.

Kershaw is 8-0 in his last 11 starts and is 6-1 on the road this year. He's the first Dodger with 12 wins

before the All-Star break since Ramon Martinez in 1991 and he expects to start Tuesday and the

following Sunday before the break.

June 30, 2017 Page 14 of 27

"He just has that ability that sometimes where things might not go right and the great ones I've seen

have a way of taking it into their own hands and ramping up the intensity and focus, and that's what he

did right there," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kershaw's response to the unearned run that

allowed the Angels to tie the game at 1 in the fourth inning.

The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner struck out eight of the Halos' starting batters at

least once Thursday night.

"Our team doesn't strike out very much," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think we struck out 15

times tonight, which is very odd."

Puig and Utley hit solo homers in the fifth inning off Angels starter JC Ramirez (7-6), who also served up

a three-run blast by Pederson in the sixth. Puig's 15th home run was his sixth this month and featured

another highlight-worthy bat flip as he broke a 1-1 tie.

After the home runs by Puig and Utley gave Kershaw a lead in the top of the fifth, he struck out the side

in the bottom of the inning.

"One of those innings where we scored some runs and you want to make sure you have a shutdown

inning," Kershaw said. "It's pretty important as a team, when you score runs, you shut them down the

next inning and have a quick inning and have your guys get back in there and score more runs."

Pederson's eighth home run, estimated by Statcast™ at 421 feet, was his sixth since returning from the

concussion disabled list on June 13. The big fly was the Dodgers' 50th in June, a franchise record for any

month.

Ramirez left the game after being drilled on the right hip by a Puig line drive with two outs in the sixth.

He was charged with six runs (five earned) on seven hits, with three strikeouts and a walk.

Kenley Jansen picked up his eighth four-out save and 18th save overall.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Execution, or not: After loading the bases with no outs in the top of the third inning, the Dodgers scored

only once, on a sacrifice fly, in large part because Angels second baseman Danny Espinosa threw out

Puig at the plate when he fielded Corey Seager's one-out grounder with the infield in.

Seager, returning after missing five games with a hamstring strain, had a chance to do the same on

defense in the fourth when he gloved Albert Pujols' one-out grounder with the infield in, but his throw

home was on the wrong side of the plate and Cameron Maybin scored. Both runs were unearned.

"That's a play I know he knows he should make," said Roberts, who removed Seager in the seventh

inning to rest. "We had the infield in, it was a two-hopper and a play that he'll make nine times out of

10."

June 30, 2017 Page 15 of 27

Stop right there: The Angels' best chance to get to Kershaw was in the fourth inning after Maybin

scored. They had one out and runners on first and second, but that's where Kershaw left them, as he

struck out Jefry Marte and Martin Maldonado.

"After that inning, he picked us up huge," said Roberts. "He punched the side out and turned it up a

couple notches."

QUOTABLE

"We've got guys with a ton of pop up and down the lineup. You can't make a mistake and think you can

get away with a single." -- Kershaw, on the Dodgers' offense

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Benches cleared, but there were no other extracurricular activities after Brandon Morrow hit Yunel

Escobar with a pitch in the eighth inning. Morrow entered the game with one run in, no outs and

runners on the corners and, after striking out Pujols, drilled Escobar in the shoulder with a 96-mph

fastball to bring the tying run to the plate. Escobar pointed into his dugout and yelled something, then

turned to jaw with Morrow before catcher Yasmani Grandal stepped in to seemingly defuse the

situation. Warnings were issued, but there didn't appear to be any intent on Morrow's part. Though in

his previous at-bat, Escobar walked for the second time against Kershaw and said something as he made

his way to first base, prompting Kershaw to stare him down.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

The Dodgers are 94-0 when they score four or more runs during Kershaw's starts.

The announced crowd of 44,807 was second-largest at Angel Stadium since the 1998 renovation.

WHAT'S NEXT

Dodgers: Alex Wood (8-0, 1.86 ERA), with an extra day off to rest his sternum, starts Friday night's 7:10

p.m. PT series opener in San Diego. Despite his nagging injury, Wood is bidding for his first All-Star berth

after becoming the first Dodgers starter since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 to begin a season 8-0 and

the first since Orel Hershiser in '85 to remain unbeaten 11 starts in.

Angels: The Halos will send right-hander Parker Bridwell (2-0, 2.95 ERA) to the bump to open a three-

game home set against the Mariners on Friday. The Angels enter the series 4-2 against Seattle this year.

Bridwell, who's made five career appearances (four starts) this season, is facing the Mariners for the first

time in his career. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. PT. Watch on MLB.TV or stream blackout-free

on Facebook.

Unbeaten Bridwell faces M’s, free on Facebook

By Greg Johns / MLB.com

The Mariners and Angels, two teams that have survived a rash of pitching injuries to remain in the

American League playoff chase in the first half, open a three-game series in Anaheim on Friday.

June 30, 2017 Page 16 of 27

Rookie right-hander Parker Bridwell will make his fourth start for the Angels, while Seattle has switched

up its rotation and moved left-hander Ariel Miranda into the series opener and bumped rookie Sam

Gaviglio back to Saturday.

The game will be broadcast live and blackout-free on the official MLB Facebook page

(www.facebook.com/mlb), and include an exclusive MLB.com pregame show.

Miranda was originally slated to begin the year in the Minors, but instead has wound up being the one

Seattle pitcher who has made every start this season, going 6-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 16 outings.

Miranda moved into the rotation when Drew Smyly injured his left elbow in the final week of Spring

Training. Smyly is scheduled for Tommy John surgery next week, and won't pitch this year, while Hisashi

Iwakuma continues to deal with a right shoulder issue. The Mariners have regained Felix Hernandez and

James Paxton in the past few weeks, but it's been a season-long juggling act with their pitching staff.

They won't get any sympathy from the Angels, however, as they have three starters currently on the DL

-- Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker and Tyler Skaggs -- while Andrew Heaney and Nick Tropeano have

been out all year following Tommy John surgeries. Alex Meyer also had a brief stint on the DL, but is

now back in the rotation.

Both teams also have had several key position players sidelined, with the Angels still minus Mike Trout.

Bridwell has been an excellent fill-in of late, going 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA in four outings (three starts) since

being promoted on May 30. The 25-year-old beat the Red Sox at Fenway Park in his last outing, allowing

two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Bridwell was acquired from the Orioles in a cash deal in April after being released by Baltimore and has

excelled in tough circumstances, with both his other starts coming against the Yankees.

Things to know about this game

• The Angels have gone 4-2 against Seattle this season, including a three-game sweep in Anaheim in the

first week of the season. They concluded that series with a 10-9 win in which they scored seven runs in

the bottom of the ninth to overcome a six-run deficit.

• Miranda is 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA in four career starts against the Angels. He allowed two runs over seven

innings on May 4 in his lone start against them this year in an 11-3 win at Safeco Field.

• Mariners closer Edwin Diaz is coming off two rocky outings, getting only two outs in the ninth before

being replaced in both of Seattle's back-to-back losses to the Phillies while allowing six runs (two

earned) on five hits. But manager Scott Servais said the 23-year-old remains his closer, and will get the

ball Friday if a save situation arises.

June 30, 2017 Page 17 of 27

Ramirez runs out of steam vs. Dodgers

By Kaelen Jones / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- JC Ramirez's night started off fine. The Angels right-hander held his own early on before

things went awry during a 6-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday night.

Ramirez (7-6, 4.60 ERA) relinquished six runs (five earned) on seven hits -- including three home runs --

and a walk, while recording three strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings.

He posted a 2-3 record in June after going 5-3 across April and May.

"It's been pretty hard. I'm glad it's gone," Ramirez said of June. "I hope July comes with good things, you

know? Just have to keep working, stay mentally prepared, just keep getting focused for my next start."

The 28-year-old began Thursday night efficiently, allowing an unearned run on one hit and one walk

with a pitch count of 55 through four innings.

"He had great stuff early," said Angels manger Mike Scioscia. "He was going pitch for pitch with [Dodgers

ace Clayton] Kershaw."

"First three innings, they were good," Ramirez said. "I think it was pretty good, just I couldn't get ahead

with my curveball."

The tide turned in the fifth when Yasiel Puig and Chase Utley teed up solo home runs. In the sixth, Justin

Turner and Cody Bellinger knocked a single and double, respectively, to lead off the frame, before Joc

Pederson dispatched a three-run homer one out later to give the Dodgers a commanding 6-1 lead.

Ramirez, whose night ended (though he was OK) after Puig lined a single back up the middle and off his

hip with two outs in the sixth, typically has issues during the first inning. Entering Thursday, 14 of his 40

runs allowed came in the opening frame. However, the Dodgers knocked the native of Nicaragua around

in the fifth and sixth innings during Ramirez's third time through the order.

"I don't know if he got tired," Scioscia said. "The ball was not moving as well."

Ramirez said he found it difficult to throw breaking pitches, particularly curveballs against left-handed

batters. Pederson's blast, which broke the game open, came off a hanging slider.

"With the lefties, I couldn't get ahead with my curveball, couldn't throw for any counts," Ramirez said.

"It's hard to pitch a sinker or slider to lefties."

Ramirez's night came to a disappointing close. The converted reliever now has 16 career starts (all this

season) under his belt, and Ramirez said he's still determining how to make adjustments on the fly.

"I'm learning," he said. "Today, I didn't have my curveball, so I had to figure out to how to pitch without

it. Now, I've got some ideas for my next outing."

June 30, 2017 Page 18 of 27

Scioscia said he's not considering removing Ramirez from the rotation any time soon. Thursday night

was treated more as a rarity than a common occurrence.

"He's pitched some good baseball in between some games that happened like tonight," Scioscia said.

"It's new territory for JC, and we'll keep looking at him. But his velocity was fine, everything looked

good. He just lost a little bit of his feel there in the later innings."

Angels’ Barria suiting up for World in Futures

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Right-hander Jaime Barria, ranked by MLBPipleline.com as the Angels' No. 8 prospect, was

tapped on Thursday to represent the Halos at the 2017 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.

Barria, who was signed by the Angels as an international free agent out of Panama in 2013, will suit up

for the World roster. He is the only Halos prospect who will participate in the annual event.

The 20-year-old hurler opened the season at Class A Advanced Inland Empire and recorded a 2.48 ERA

with 13 walks and 57 strikeouts over 65 1/3 innings before being elevated to Double-A Mobile in June.

Barria has continued to pitch well since his promotion, logging a 0.92 ERA with three walks and 16

strikeouts across 19 2/3 innings.

Barria, listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, is averaging a career-best 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings this

season, up from a 6.0 K/9 in 117 innings with Class A Burlington in 2016.

"Barria's been doing an amazing job," Mobile pitching coach Buddy Carlyle told MiLB.com last week.

"[Pitching coach Michael] Wuertz did a great job with him at Inland Empire. He's very advanced for his

age and has a tremendous feel for pitching and a good feel for the game. He understands his body really

well and has a very unique ability as a 20-year-old to command his off-speed pitches, which really helps

him out."

The 2017 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game will be held on Sunday, July 9, at 1 p.m. PT at Marlins Park in

Miami and can be viewed live on MLB Network and MLB.com.

The U.S. Team leads the all-time series by an 11-7 margin, though the World Team snapped the

Americans' six-game winning streak with an 11-3 victory in last year's matchup at Petco Park in San

Diego.

Scioscia reminisces on Fernando's no-no

Angels' skipper was part of Dodgers history 27 years ago

By Kaelen Jones / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Only twice in the history of the Major Leagues have two no-hitters been thrown on the

same day. The first instance occurred May 2, 1917, when Reds right-hander Fred Toney and Cubs left-

June 30, 2017 Page 19 of 27

hander Hippo Vaughn accomplished the feat. The other day involved A's righty Dave Stewart and

Dodgers southpaw Fernando Valenzuela, who hurled no-hitters 27 years ago Thursday.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who spent the entirety of his 13-year playing career with the Dodgers,

was Valenzuela's batterymate on the fateful night -- June 29, 1990.

The Halos skipper told reporters Thursday how Valenzuela had predicted his fortune prior to spinning

the masterpiece.

"We're going out there and we're starting to go out there to stretch pregame, and Fernando's going

down to the bullpen to start his warmups," Scioscia recalled. "As you walk out of our clubhouse in the

old Dodger Stadium -- which I don't even know if it's like that anymore -- we had a little video room and

then you could go down to go out to the dugout, and you'd go all the way down the hallway, all the way

into the bullpen.

"So we're watching the Toronto game. Dave Stewart's pitching, and Dave Stewart is pitching a no-hitter.

So Fernando pokes his head in, just when Dave Stewart's getting the last out of his no-hitter, and

Fernando says, 'Hey, you saw one on TV, now you're going to see one in person.'

"And he walks out of the bullpen, and throws a no-hitter."

Scioscia insisted the story held true.

"I think I told it after [the game]," he said, "but there wasn't social media back then to really get the

word out."

The effort was the only no-hitter of Valenzuela's career. However, Scioscia would also go on to catch

Kevin Gross's no-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 17, 1992, during Scioscia's final season.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Benches clear between Dodgers, Angels after Yunel Escobar HBP

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Freeway Series got feisty in the eighth inning Thursday night when both benches

and bullpens emptied after Brandon Morrow's fastball hit Yunel Escobar in the shoulder.

The pitch clearly wasn't intentional despite Escobar's furor, and no fights actually broke out as the Los

Angeles Dodgers salvaged a split of the interleague rivalry series with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles

Angels.

Morrow and Escobar formerly were Blue Jays teammates. Escobar apparently thought the Dodgers were

retaliating for his reaction to a walk earlier in the game. But Morrow was visibly frustrated with himself

after the bad throw loaded the bases for the Angels.

June 30, 2017 Page 20 of 27

"I get it, you're mad about getting hit,'' Clayton Kershaw said of Escobar. "But read the room a little bit

and realize we're not trying to hit you.''

Morrow then struck out Luis Valbuena, and the reliever made a conciliatory gesture at Escobar on first

base while he left the mound.

"For us to even consider hitting anybody to put the tying run at the plate obviously makes no sense at

all,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Kershaw fans 12, Dodgers hit 3 homers to beat Angels 6-2

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Freeway Series got feisty in the eighth inning when both benches and bullpens

emptied after Brandon Morrow's fastball hit Yunel Escobar in the shoulder. The pitch clearly wasn't

intentional despite Escobar's furor, and no fights actually broke out.

One ill-advised pitch from Morrow wasn't nearly as important as all the vicious pitches Clayton

Kershaw threw on purpose in another dominant win for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kershaw struck out 12 to become the majors' first 12-game winner, Joc Pederson hit a three-run homer

and the Dodgers salvaged a split of the interleague rivalry series with a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles

Angels on Thursday night.

Kershaw (12-2) yielded three hits and one unearned run over seven dominant innings, posting his fifth

double-digit strikeout total of the season. He got ample support from the homer-happy NL leaders, who

have won 18 of 21.

"As good as he was early, he turned it up a couple of notches," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of

Kershaw. "He just has that ability where sometimes things might not go right, but the great pitchers

have a way of taking it into their own hands and ramping up the intensity."

In his 11th consecutive unbeaten start and his second straight without allowing an earned run, Kershaw

struck out the side in the first inning on 12 pitches. He did it again in the fifth inning on 10 pitches, part

of five consecutive strikeouts overall.

"It felt good to get off on the right foot tonight," Kershaw said. "(The fifth) was one of those innings

where we had scored some runs, so you definitely want to come out and have a shutdown inning."

After Yasiel Puig and Chase Utley homered in the fifth inning, Pederson's sixth-inning shot off J.C.

Ramirez (7-6) gave the Dodgers 50 homers in June, breaking the 135-year-old franchise's record for

homers in a calendar month, set in 1953.

"Just shows you what type of team we are in all aspects, hitting and pitching," Pederson said. "It's a

good dynamic to have going."

June 30, 2017 Page 21 of 27

Kole Calhoun had a late RBI single for the Angels.

After splitting four games with the Angels, the Dodgers (53-28) have taken a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL

West over the Arizona Diamondbacks, who visit Dodger Stadium next week.

BUBBLING BROUHAHA

The local derby got some added spice from Morrow and Escobar, two former Toronto Blue

Jays teammates. Escobar apparently thought the Dodgers were retaliating for his reaction to a walk

earlier in the game.

But Morrow was visibly frustrated with himself after the bad throw loaded the bases for the Angels.

"I get it, you're mad about getting hit," Kershaw said of Escobar. "But read the room a little bit and

realize we're not trying to hit you."

Morrow then struck out Luis Valbuena, and the reliever made a conciliatory gesture at Escobar on first

base while he left the mound.

"For us to even consider hitting anybody to put the tying run at the plate obviously makes no sense at

all," Roberts said.

Kenley Jansen then retired Martin Maldonado on a long fly to center, and the Dodgers closer also

pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

ALBERT'S HIT

The bottom five hitters in the Angels' order went 0 for 14 with eight strikeouts against Kershaw. Angels'

only extra-base hit was a sixth-inning double by Albert Pujols, a career .375 hitter (12 for 32) against the

Dodgers' ace.

"He's always tough against us," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Kershaw. "I haven't seen a drop-off

at all. We never get good looks against him."

BIG FLIES

The Dodgers went ahead in the fifth when Puig cracked his 15th homer into the short left-field stands

and Utley followed with his fifth of the season to right.

Pederson has eight homers this season, including six in his last 14 games.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu has no broken bones in his foot after getting hit with a line drive during his

start Wednesday, but he says it still feels sore. Roberts is hopeful Ryu won't need a stint on the DL.

Angels: Closer Bud Norris threw a rehab inning in the minors. He could be activated this weekend after

missing a week with knee inflammation.

June 30, 2017 Page 22 of 27

UP NEXT

Dodgers: Alex Wood (8-0, 1.86 ERA) looks to continue his spectacular start to the season when they

travel south to open a weekend series against the San Diego Padres.

Angels: Parker Bridwell (2-0, 2.95 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season when Los Angeles opens a

three-game series at Angel Stadium against the Seattle Mariners.

Angels' Bridwell continues improbable journey vs. Mariners

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Parker Bridwell will start for the Los Angeles Angels on Friday against the Seattle

Mariners, but it might as well be the Aberdeen Ironbirds.

Bridwell pitched for the Low-A Ironbirds after he was drafted at age 18 by the Baltimore Orioles. He

didn't reach Double-A until 2015, before going to Triple-A and the majors for the first time last season.

The Orioles traded him to the Angels in April for a player to be named and cash, not exactly evaluating

the 6-foot-4 right-hander very highly.

The 25-year-old Bridwell, though, worked his way into the rotation, thanks to injuries, and has made

starts against the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, as well as a relief appearance

against the Yankees.

But the poise he has shown in his brief major league career belies his journey to get here. He's 2-0 with a

2.95 ERA, and the Angels are 4-0 in games he has pitched.

"I've played (professionally) for seven years now, so all the way up you face some lineups that have

more good hitters than not, ones that have one through nine that can hurt you," Bridwell said. "It's a

matter of focus and keeping your head in the game, slowing everything down and making pitch by

pitch."

Bridwell has never faced the Mariners, but it's something he has used to his advantage against other

teams this year.

He held the Braves to three runs and six hits in six innings to earn his first win May 30. In one relief

appearance and one start against the Yankees, he allowed three runs (two earned) in 8 2/3 innings. And

in his last start June 25 against Boston, he gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings to get career victory No. 2.

The Mariners will start Ariel Miranda (6-4, 4.11 ERA) after deciding to flip-flop Miranda and Sam

Gaviglio, who originally was scheduled to start Friday. Gaviglio will instead start Saturday's game.

Miranda has had success against the Angels, going 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA in four starts, including a victory

on May 4 in which he gave up two runs in seven innings.

June 30, 2017 Page 23 of 27

Miranda leads the Mariners' pitching staff with six wins, an unlikely possibility heading into spring

training after the acquisitions of Drew Smyly and Yovani Gallardo seemed to bump Miranda to the

bullpen.

But injuries to Smyly and others in the rotation opened the door for Miranda, who has taken advantage

of his opportunity. He had his best start of the season on June 4 against Tampa, throwing the first

complete game of his major league career.

"He has no fear in attacking guys," Mariners catcher Mike Zunino told the Seattle Times. "That's the

biggest thing. When you do that, you aren't afraid to throw to contact, and it makes a world of

difference. You wish all guys had his mentality to go right after guys. Even when his stuff isn't as sharp,

he's still able to get outs."

FROM ESPN.COM

Angels CF Mike Trout expected to take batting practice Friday

ESPN.com news services

Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout, who has been out after surgery on his left thumb, will be

on the field Friday to take regular batting practice.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Trout has taken full swings in the indoor batting cage. "He swung the bat

100 percent and said it feels good," Scioscia said. "It's an important step (Friday). He'll hit on the field,

get his batting practice underway and see how he responds."

Trout suffered the injury May 29 against the Miami Marlins while making a headfirst slide into second

base. He had surgery two days later to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament and dorsal capsule. The

team initially estimated he'd be out six to eight weeks.

Trout, the reigning American League MVP was batting .337 with 16 home runs and 36 RBIs at the time of

the injury.

He needs to see live pitching with some velocity while batting, and probably will play a few games in the

minors before returning to the team full time.

June 30, 2017 Page 24 of 27

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Mike Trout is injured, but the Angels have only improved during his absence

By Ben Reiter

This has been a season of mysteries in major league baseball. How does the man with the game’s

biggest strike zone, the 6’ 8” Aaron Judge, also have the league’s best on base percentage? Where is

Mets G.M. Sandy Alderson hiding the ancient amulet he stole? What compelled Madison Bumgarner to

mount that dirt bike? One mystery, though, stands above them all. How does a lineup lose the greatest

offensive force of his generation, and immediately get better?

The Angels’ 2017 season, never particularly promising, appeared to end in the fifth inning on May 28.

That was when Mike Trout dove headfirst into second base during a stolen base attempt and popped up

waving and flexing his left hand, which contained a newly ruptured ligament in its thumb. NO MIKE

TROUT, NO CHANCE FOR THE ANGELS, blared The Orange County Register the next day, atop a column

that might have appeared in the obituaries section.

It was hardly a hot take. Despite the fact that Trout had gotten off to the best of his many excellent

starts—he was batting .337 with a .461 OBP—the Angels sat a game below .500, at 26–27. That was

largely because no one else appeared to be able to hit. The rest of the lineup was batting a cumulative

.226 with an OBP of .298.

Wednesday marked one month since Trout went down, and without him the Angels offense isn’t just

improved, but much improved. With Trout, it was scoring 4.02 runs per game, 26th in the league.

Without him, it’s at 4.79, ranking 16th. That 20% boost has helped turn a losing club into a winning one,

as the Angels are 16–13 sans Trout and a single game out of a Wild Card spot. They’ve done it in the

midst of what ought to be the most punishing stretch of their schedule, one in which six of their nine

series came against opponents who were at the time in first place—the Twins, Astros, Red Sox, Dodgers,

and Yankees (twice). Eric Young, Trout’s well-traveled replacement, has been good—he’s hit .286 with

three homers and 11 RBIs—but not that good. So how have they done it?

Part of the answer is boring: the rest of the Angels’ hitters aren’t as bad as they were for the season’s

first two months, and now they’re progressing toward the mean. Since May 28, every one of the Angels’

regulars—with the notable exception of Albert Pujols, the only one of them besides Trout at whom

astronomers have ever gawked—has boosted his OPS. If the development isn’t generally suspicious, the

specific timing and extent of it certainly is.

June 30, 2017 Page 25 of 27

Hitter OPS w/ Trout OPS w/o Trout Change

Kole Calhoun 0.618 0.860 + 0.242

Yunel Escobar 0.723 0.813 + 0.090

Cameron Maybin 0.746 0.811 + 0.065

Andrelton Simmons 0.731 0.793 + 0.062

Martin Maldonado 0.726 0.775 + 0.049

Luis Valbeuna 0.526 0.668 + 0.142

Danny Espinosa 0.497 0.651 + 0.154

Albert Pujols 0.679 0.616 -0.063

Trout is liked and respected across baseball, but in his own dugout he is beloved and revered. He is the

rare superstar who is deeply woven into the fabric of his club. But he is so individually brilliant that,

through no fault of his own, he can cause his teammates to believe that he can win games by himself—

which he often does—and, perhaps subconsciously, to cede that responsibility to him. That’s how

Calhoun, the rightfielder who this season has an OPS of .618 when Trout has an intact thumb and .860

when he doesn’t, sees it.

“I think everybody kind of came together when Mike went down, and we started playing as a team,”

says Calhoun. “Not that we didn’t when Mike was here. But when you’ve got a force like that—16

homers, I don’t know how many RBI’s—every night he was doing something to help the team win. You

miss that bat, but it’s like, all right, now you’ve gotta take it upon yourself.”

The clearest tactical difference between the Angels with Trout and the Angels without him is on the

base paths. In the 53 games before he went down, the Angels swiped 37 bags, 10 of them by Trout

himself. In 29 games without him, they’ve also stolen 37 bases, led by Maybin’s 12, Andrelton

Simmons’s 9 and Young’s 7, the most in the majors over that stretch.

There are very good strategic reasons to curtail your stolen base attempts with a force like Trout in the

lineup. You don’t want to run into an out in front of a man who is more likely than anyone else in

baseball to drive you in, had you just stayed where you were. However, psychologically (and culturally,

too), consistently limiting one’s own natural aggressiveness can have a ripple effect that can extend into

all aspects of performance, including at the plate. As Calhoun suggests, Trout’s injury appears to have

been a shock to the Angels’ system. Without him there win games for them, the rest of the Angels

June 30, 2017 Page 26 of 27

instantly became empowered with the responsibility of doing it themselves, and not just once they

reached first.

Baseball is not like basketball, in that even the most transcendent of stars cannot alone turn a bad team

into a good one. If LeBron James would account for something like 40 extra wins over the course of 162

hoops games, Trout’s career-best Wins Above Replacement, set in 2013, is 10.5. There’s a reason why in

none of his five seasons have the Angels won a single playoff game.

Trout, post-surgery, began hitting off of a tee over the weekend, and could return to full health in a

couple of weeks. Calhoun has an idea of what the Angels should do with him when he does: “Mike’s still

got options, so he might get optioned to Triple-A and let us do our thing.”

He’s joking; they can’t wait to get him back. When they do, they still might not contend, no matter

what. A middling rotation, with a 4.34 ERA, could preclude that. To have any chance, though, they’ll

have to pull off the trick of forcing themselves to play the same way—with the same heedless abandon,

the same personal responsibility—as they did without him. That might result in a truly twist ending to

2017: an Angels playoff run.

FROM BASEBALL AMERICA

Nike unveils Mike Trout’s new footwear

By Tim Newcomb

Designing Mike Trout’s fourth signature cleat started in Nike’s research lab, with a fresh take on a plate

design derived from work already done for NFL players and track stars at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“When you see an athlete like Mike who is such a powerful, explosive guy, it is easy to overbuild

something if you don’t have any information,” Nike senior footwear designer Jeff Rasmussen said.

“Using computational design and Mike’s pressure map data, we were able to build him the strongest,

lightest cleat.”

Roger Chen, Nike’s senior director for digital innovation, pulled in Trout’s foot pressure map data, as

discovered in Nike’s Sports Research Lab, to look at how force moves through the baseball star’s feet.

That data informed the design for Nike Baseball in the Nike Zoom Trout 4, which will be released Friday.

It also created a “more precisely tuned plate design” that will eventually define the future of all Nike

baseball cleat designs.

The updated engineering gives the plate extra stiffness where needed, flexibility in other spots and

shaves in still other locations to offer a stronger yet lighter option.

“It is an intelligent design,” Rasmussen says, “not a big slab.”

June 30, 2017 Page 27 of 27

To help create strength and comfort, Nike turned to nature and brought in a hexagonal shape for the

plate, and also added Nike Zoom Air bags directly atop the metal spikes to help moderate the hot spots

of irritation created from having metal spikes millimeters from the foot. By using the honeycomb design,

engineers created a reductive nature in the cells that reduce weight in some areas, but offer an

incredibly strong connective nature.

The air bags work with a plate to use the hexagon shape to spread out forces and distribute them more

evenly so Trout doesn’t feel everything through the spikes.

The computational design with Nike Zoom Air was an example of utilizing existing Nike technologies in

new ways. The material and honeycomb design in the plate has been done in other sports. The

hexagonal bags have been done in other sports. But never in baseball.

Nike engineers also used finite element analysis testing, typically a traction test simulating the role of a

spike pattern against varying surfaces. “We look at the forces driven by him, and then we try to simulate

that digitally so that we can tune the traction and the actual stiffness of the plates,” Chen said. That

information, coupled with the Trout-specific data, led Chen to use angular spikes placed in high-pressure

areas to offer traction during pivoting, while the hexagonal Zoom Air units in the heel help absorb

impact and enhance explosiveness.

With a completely redesigned plate, Nike needed an upper that matched the technology underfoot.

Based on Trout’s athletic 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame, Nike knew it needed to provide comfort along with

strength. Using a Foamposite-styled design inspired by basketball, designers created a bucket to saddle

Trout’s foot and contain him while in the batter’s box. “We always take into account that we want the

plate and the upper to work in unison as much as possible,” Rasmussen says.

The rest of the upper, though, may depend on comfort more than science. With baseball players

spending so much time in cleats, whether standing, at half-speed or those bursts of peak speed,

Rasmussen says they needed to design for every level of use. Along with the Zoom Air atop the spikes,

the Trout 4 includes a full-length foam midsole, a tricky balance of comfort and performance. “If you add

too much foam, you get the athlete too far off the ground and compromise the nimbleness of the cleat,”

Rasmussen says. “You have to weigh all the consequences of an athlete’s movement. We have

responsive cushioning and protective cushioning with full-length foam.”

A Trout signature cleat wouldn’t be complete without an aesthetic treatment befitting the Angels’ star.

And that includes the play off Trout’s last name and his enjoyment of fishing. The Trout 4 continues the

fish-inspired designs from the signature line, which began with the Mahi Mahi, which ties to the All-Star

Game location of Miami.

Trout himself understands the process. “Each shoe represents the hard work of so many people,” he

said. “To know that I was able to sit down with Nike and help reach a finished product is something

special. The science and dedication Nike puts into a shoe is for real.”