HITTING REPORT:
where forging an on-field rapport in due time should not be an issue.
“I've said it from the beginning, I'm excited for all of them,” Nevin said. “I encouraged them that were kind of on the bubble, deciding whether to go. `Go play. You get to represent your country.'
“I know Fletch isn't from Italy but he gets to play with his brother, so that's a cool thing.”
Nevin said he can't wait to hear the stories from Angels players when they return to camp, but he will be wellversed in what happened. He plans to watch the games with Angels players in them, no matter the hour.
When Ohtani plays his first game of the tournament with Japan on March 9 against China in Tokyo, the first pitch in Arizona will be at 3 a.m. (2 a.m. PT).
“I'll be setting my alarm and waking up (to watch games) and getting less sleep for (the media) in the morning,” Nevin joked. “I'm excited to watch (Ohtani) as anyone would be. I'm excited to watch him in these games and pitch in these games. I told him to go have fun, we'll miss him, but we'll be excited to have him back.”
Nevin will leave all of the coaching to the Team Japan staff, but he doesn't expect to leave Ohtani alone entirely.
“If he hits a homer, I'll probably send some funny emoji to him, or whatever those little videos are that you guys send,” Nevin said. “I have a
Rengifo has exactly 10 career major league starts in right field, but that's where he was to start Thursday's Cactus League game against the Kansas City Royals. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing as Rengifo fielded a base hit by MJ Melendez in the fourth inning and then dropped the ball for an error as he tried to rush a throw to home plate.
By having Rengifo in right, it allowed Michael Stefanic (second base) Andrew Velazquez (shortstop) and Jake Lamb (third base) to start on the infield.
Electric slide
Angels left-hander Tucker Davidson didn't necessarily have the kind of start he was looking for, giving up two runs on three hits over two innings in his second spring outing. But he did have three strikeouts and no walks while putting his new sweeping slider back to the test.
After he walked 35 batters in 52 major league innings last season, Davidson has not walked a batter in four spring innings. He even used what he called a “split change” for two pitches.
“Today I didn't throw sliders very well for strikes,” Davidson said. “I was struggling in the bullpen before the game . ... Just fine-tuning the little details is the biggest thing for these early outings.”