Press-Telegram (Long Beach)

GAME RECAP: ANGELS 6, MARINERS 2

- — Jeff Fletcher

THE GAME: The Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-2 in a six-inning Cactus League game Sunday at Tempe Diablo Stadium. PITCHING REPORT: RHP Jaime Barria gave up a homer to Ty France, but he retired the other six batters he faced in his two-inning outing. Barria is the pitcher most likely to join the rotation if any of the top six starters get hurt. Otherwise, he figures to be in the Angels’ bullpen because he’s out of options, although that could change based on arbiter’s ruling this month. The issue is whether the shortened 2020 season counts as a “full season” in terms of the option rules. “I’m not going to lie, it’s in the back of my head,” Barria said through an interprete­r. “But at the same time it’s something I can’t control . ... Whatever happens, I do feel I have done enough to be part of the team.” … RHP Felix Peña pitched a scoreless inning, working around a walk. … RHP Ty Buttrey gave up a run, but one of the hits was an infield hit and the other was a catchable ball down the left-field line that went for a triple. … LHP Jose Suarez struck out four in two scoreless innings. Suarez has a 7.99 ERA in the big leagues, but manager Joe Maddon believes the stuff he showed Sunday is indicative of his potential. “As he learns to utilize what he has, he can be that kind of pitcher,” Maddon said. “He needs a better game plan. He needs to understand himself better, but that’s what he’s capable of doing.”

HITTING REPORT: Albert Pujols doubled into leftcenter and then he scored when Justin Upton dropped a bloop double down the right-field line. Pujols also had a single, improving to 4 for 8 this spring. Upton is 3 for 8 this spring. … Shohei Ohtani narrowly missed his second homer of the spring, with CF Kyle Lewis making a leaping catch at the fence. … The Angels scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth and then the inning was ended with one out. Ohtani lined a single into left in his next trip. He’s 4 for 7 with a walk this spring... Phil Gosselin and Scott Schebler hit back-to-back homers, the first of the spring for each of them.

DEFENSE REPORT: SS Jose Iglesias charged a slow roller and made an acrobatic pickup and flip to first as he flopped onto the ground. He earlier made a nice play charging a slow chopper. … LF Jose Rojas, who mostly plays infield, had trouble tracking down a fly ball at the line and it went for a triple. … 3B Luis Rengifo picked up a ball that had deflected off Buttrey and hurried the throw to first to get the out. … 1B Matt Thaiss made a diving stop down the line.

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