The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Maddon continues to push lineup platoons
BOSTON >> The Angels’ lineups through the first month of the season have settled into a predictable pattern.
There’s a righty lineup and a lefty lineup.
Although it can be frustrating for some fans who would like to see Manager Joe Maddon just stick with the same players every day, for now, the players seem willing to go along with this plan.
“We’re in first place, so it’s working pretty well,” outfielder Brandon Marsh said. “If we’re winning, I don’t care. If I sit for a week or play for a week and we’re winning, it doesn’t matter.”
First baseman Jared Walsh agreed.
“I think we’ve got a lot of capable players that kind of play different positions in the infield, outfield, righty hitters, lefty hitters, so I think it’s worked pretty well so far,” Walsh said.
Center fielder Mike Trout, right fielder Taylor Ward, third baseman Anthony Rendon and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani are the only players in the lineup unaffected by platoons. Catchers Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki split time, but both are right-handed hitters so it’s more workload management than a platoon.
At first, second, shortstop and left field, Maddon changes his lineup just about every day, based on whether the Angels are facing a righty or lefty.
“If they start someone else versus a lefty it means their numbers are better against that lefty, or lefties in general,” Marsh said.
“You gotta trust the higherups and think they are doing what’s best for the team. It’s been working out so far.”
On Tuesday, the Angels faced a righty with reverse splits, so Maddon loaded up his lineup with righties. On Wednesday they faced a righty with traditional splits, so Maddon filled the lineup with lefties.
The Angels need to only look back at the 2021 San Francisco Giants to find a team that made liberal use of platoons, and they won 107 games. The Giants last year used 148 different batting orders, excluding the pitcher’s spot.
Maddon said the platoons don’t merely help give the Angels the best matchups, but also help to give players rest. Right now they are in a stretch of 20 games in a row.
“How many games have all these guys played in a year where they stay healthy?” Maddon said. “Normally it’s not 162. So if you could get guys off their feet, let baseball dictate to you the right time to give somebody a break. Give them a break. I like it.”
Ouch
Reliever Austin Warren said he will have surgery when the Angels get back to Southern California, repairing the damage from a line drive that struck him in the face during a freak accident in batting practice on Tuesday.
Warren had been throwing in left field and keeping an eye on home plate because the Red Sox were taking batting practice. He was distracted by a young fan asking him for a ball.
“As soon as I look to flip it, it was bang-bang,” Warren said. “It got me pretty good. It didn’t knock me out. I went down to a knee. I noticed I was gushing blood and just tried to get to the tunnel so I wasn’t making a scene on the field.”
Warren was placed on the injured list with a nasal fracture. On Wednesday Warren’s face was still swollen, with bruises on the left side. He had both nostrils plugged to prevent bleeding.
Also
The Angels still aren’t sure who will pitch on Friday, which would have been José Suarez’s turn before he was sent back to Triple-a. Maddon said they are still considering some options, including pitchers who are currently in the bullpen and in the minors. Kenny Rosenberg and Jaime Barria are the most likely candidates from the current bullpen. Jhonathan Diaz has been the best starter at Triple-a. The Angels could also use Michael Lorenzen on four days of rest, but Maddon said he’d prefer not to do that . ... Right-hander Griffin Canning (back) said he is scheduled to face hitters for the first time in his rehab next Tuesday in Anaheim. Canning threw all of his pitches in a 40-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday in Boston. He said he expects to be ready when he’s eligible to be activated on June 6 . ... Right-hander Archie Bradley (oblique) said he will have more information on the severity of this injury once he is re-examined back in Southern California. Bradley had a similar injury last year and missed a month, and he said he doesn’t expect this to be any longer.