Nolasco blanks Reds
Same injury in other foot ended 2013 season for slugger, who sits out victory.
Ricky Nolasco pitches four-hit shutout for surging Angels.
A combined 51 homers and 187 runs batted in were on the Angels bench for Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Neither Mike Trout nor Albert Pujols were in the lineup as Angels right-hander Ricky Nolasco, taking full advantage of the shadows of a late afternoon start, pitched a fourhit shutout.
Whereas Trout’s day of rest was more maintenance, a day the star center fielder could combine with Thursday’s off day to “refresh,” as Manager Mike Scioscia said, Pujols is dealing with a more serious issue: plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Pujols, 36, played the first four months of the 2013 season with the same condition in his left foot before the fascia ligament finally snapped in late July, ending his season but essentially replicating the surgical procedure he would have had after the season if the ligament held up through September.
Pujols recovered to hit .272 with 28 homers and 105 RBIs in 2014 and .244 with 40 homers and 95 RBIs in 2015.
The designated hitter underwent surgery to repair the plantar plate in his right foot last November but this season is batting .263 with 26 homers and 103 RBIs, second-most in the American League.
The plantar fasciitis flared up “a couple weeks ago,” Scioscia said, adding that the condition is not as severe as the one that hobbled Pujols in 2013.
Scioscia expects Pujols to play Friday at Seattle.
“Albert is one of the toughest people I’ve ever seen ... and he’s going to play if he’s able to go out there,” Scioscia said. “He’s been managing it and playing very well, obviously.”
The Angels managed just fine without Trout or Pujols on Wednesday. C.J. Cron drove in runs with two-out singles in the sixth and eighth innings, and Jefry Marte added an RBI double in the sixth to back Nolasco, who struck out seven and walked none for the fifth shutout of his career and first since Sept. 9, 2012.
Nolasco’s first win as an Angel — he lost his first four decisions after being acquired from the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 1 — gave the Angels seven wins in eight games. Of Nolasco’s 94 pitches in a 2-hour 10-minute game, 67 were strikes.
His only trouble came in the sixth, when Ramon Cabrera led off with a double and took third on Billy Hamilton’s sacrifice bunt. Nolasco got Zack Cozart to ground out to third, Cabrera holding, and the dangerous Joey Votto to line out to second.
“I was trying to be aggressive and throw strikes,” Nolasco said. “The slider was good — I got a lot of swings and misses with it. I located the sinker all day and got a lot of ground balls with it. I mixed in some split-fingered fastballs and curves.”
Salas trade
Less than two hours before Wednesday night’s waiver trade deadline, the Angels dealt reliever Fernando Salas to the New York Mets for minor league righthander Erik Manoah, who was assigned to Class-A Burlington.
Salas has been a middlerelief mainstay for three seasons but took over for injured closer Cam Bedrosian in early August and converted all four of his save opportunities.
The hard-throwing righthander is 3-6 with a 4.47 earned-run average in 58 games, with 45 strikeouts and 19 walks in 561⁄3 innings, but he has a 2.93 ERA in 17 games since the All-Star break. The Mets are 11⁄2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
Manoah, 20, was a 13thround pick of the Mets in 2014. With a low-90s fastball, curve and changeup, the 6foot-2, 215-pound righthander was 5-5 with a 5.37 ERA in 13 games for Class-A Brooklyn of the New YorkPenn League.
Homecoming game
His first appearance in Angel Stadium on Tuesday night was “a dream come true” for Reds reliever Michael Lorenzen, a former Fullerton High and Cal State Fullerton pitcher who grew up an Angels fan.
His only regret was that his father was not there to witness it. Clif Lorenzen died Aug. 17 of liver and kidney failure. He was 61.
“It was bittersweet, absolutely,” said Lorenzen, who gave up a run and three hits in two innings. “He would have loved it.”
Just two days after his father’s death, Lorenzen hit an emotional home run against the Dodgers, breaking down in tears as he hugged teammates. Lorenzen, 24, has been touched by the support he has received since the homer.
“So many people have encouraged me, saying they’re going through the same stuff, and it’s helped,” Lorenzen said. “That’s why I was so happy, not only for myself but because I know I’m not the only person in this world whose father passed away.”