Shoemaker returns to mound

Angels pitcher took line drive off his head in September.

Exactly seven months after being struck in the head by a line drive that left him with a cracked skull, Matt Shoemaker looked every bit the same pitcher he had been.

Shoemaker pitched five strong innings in his return to the mound as his Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6 on Tuesday night.

It was Shoemaker’s first regular-season outing since he was hit by a line drive off Kyle Seager’s bat in Seattle in September, an injury that required surgery to stop bleeding in his brain. The righthander wore a carbon-fiber protective insert under his cap Tuesday to protect an area where a titanium plate was inserted on his skull.

“He’s very determined,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “I think once he was physically fit, I think everyone felt that he would come back. He’s got the perseverance to get back on that mound and hopefully have the success that he had before.”

Shoemaker threw 99 pitches and left with a 4-2 lead.

There was a scare in the fourth, when Stephen Vogt’s broken-bat comebacker glanced off Shoemaker’s hip.

“It felt pretty good. A little erratic with the location, but overall it felt pretty good,” Shoemaker said.

Marlins: Former Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush reportedly were among those who could try to buy the team from Jeffrey Loria. Marlins officials would neither confirm nor deny the report. “I have no comment,” Loria said Wednesday.

Reds: Utility player Tyler Goeddel was claimed off waivers from the Phillies and optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Goeddel, 24, hit .192 in 92 games for the Phillies last season. The Reds also transferred right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (sprained pitching elbow) to the 60-day DL.

Rockies: Entering Wednesday night’s game at Milwaukee, the Colorado bullpen has opened the season with 8⅓ scoreless innings of relief.

Cardinals: Outfielder Stephen Piscotty was struck by a ball three times in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Cubs. First, he was plunked on the arm by a pitch from Jake Arrieta. He then stole second and was struck on the other arm on a throw from catcher Willson Contreras. Then on his slide home, he was hit on his helmeted head on a throw by second baseman Javier Baez while scoring on an infield hit by Kolten Wong. “I’ve never seen that before,” Piscotty said. “Crazy.”

Brewers: Right-hander Matt Garza, on the disabled list with a right groin injury, threw off a mound before batting practice Tuesday and could start a rehab stint at Triple-A early next week.

Indians: The team said it has sold 1.2 million tickets this season, a figure it didn’t reach in 2016 until July 4.

Noteworthy: Pedro Guerrero, 60, was transferred out of the intensive care unit of his New York hospital Tuesday, one day after the former Dodgers slugger was hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage. According to a source in contact with his family, Guerrero is able to shake his head and squeeze his hand in response to commands, a marked improvement from the previous night.

■ Emmanuel Burriss, who played last season for the Phillies, was suspended 50 games under the sport’s minor league drug program. It was the second positive test for a drug of abuse for Burriss, 32 and a utility player for Syracuse (Washington’s Triple-A team).

BEN MARGOT / AP Pitcher Matt Shoemaker wore a carbon-fiber protective insert under his hat Tuesday to protect an area where a titanium plate was inserted on his skull.