ANAHEIM \u2014 With each passing game, it becomes more apparent that Nolan Schanuel\u2019s bad ankle was most of why he started the season so slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was losing my balance a lot, having to put pressure on because it was my back leg,\u201d the Angels\u2019 first baseman said. \u201cNow that\u2019s kind of faded away. I\u2019ve been able to adjust to the offspeed pitch a lot easier and kind of hold my plane and hit balls to the off side of the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schanuel was hitting .262 with a .700 OPS on May 24, when he finally went on the injured list because of a sore left ankle that had been bothering him since early April.<\/p>\n
He missed just two weeks and admitted he wasn\u2019t yet 100% when he returned. Still, since coming off the injured list, Schanuel has hit .294 with an .802 OPS.<\/p>\n
That includes a .321 average and .859 OPS over his last 22 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m as healthy as I\u2019ve been,\u201d Schanuel said. \u201cThat\u2019s a plus. I think everything is kind of working my way in the box. I feel more balanced. When I feel my best with my body, I think that plays a big role into things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hot streak has brought Schanuel\u2019s season numbers up to .273 and .737, which is right in line with what he did last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to have the faith that just because I had a slow start, I didn\u2019t get shipped out,\u201d Schanuel said. \u201cIt was good to have people on my side. I know I\u2019m capable of being a really good player.\u201d<\/p>\n
SLUMPING SOLER<\/p>\n
Designated hitter Jorge Soler hasn\u2019t done as well since he returned from a three-week stint on the injured list.<\/p>\n
Soler has hit .175 with a .611 OPS since he was activated on June 22. He has struck out in 33% of his plate appearances.<\/p>\n
Manager Kurt Suzuki isn\u2019t ready to pull the plug, or even drop him from the cleanup spot in the lineup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought about (dropping him in the lineup),\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cJust with him there, obviously as the threat that is. You give him an opportunity to come out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzuki pointed out that Soler\u2019s last at-bat on Saturday night was good. He hit a 102 mph line drive for a single into left field.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible the Angels are giving Soler every opportunity to pull out of this slump in the hope that he could make himself attractive as a trade candidate before the Aug. 3 deadline.<\/p>\n
Suzuki said the reason he\u2019s getting a long leash is that Soler, 34, has a history of being a productive hitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s earned that right by the career that he\u2019s had,\u201d Suzuki said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to get a little bit more leash than some younger guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soler\u2019s return also reduced the at-bats for players like Wade Meckler and Donovan Walton, who has since been designated for assignment and claimed by the A\u2019s. The Angels hit .271 and averaged 5.6 runs per game while Soler was on the injured list. Since he\u2019s been back, they\u2019ve hit .237 and averaged 3.5 runs per game.<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/p>\n
Infielder Adam Frazier (elbow) has reported to Triple-A Salt Lake to begin a rehab assignment. \u2026<\/p>\n
Catcher Travis d\u2019Arnaud (plantar fasciitis) scored from first on a double during the first game of his rehab assignment on Friday. That\u2019s a good sign because running is the biggest test for d\u2019Arnaud\u2019s foot injury. \u2026<\/p>\n
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (shoulder) is scheduled to face hitters \u201cin the next few days,\u201d Suzuki said. Kikuchi said earlier this month his target was to be pitching in the majors in early August. \u2026<\/p>\n
The Angels activated utilityman Gustavo Campero from the injured list and optioned him to Triple-A. It\u2019s essentially a paperwork move. The only reason that Campero was added to the 40-man roster in June was because he had an out in his contract. As a result, he collected a major league salary and major league service time while he was injured.<\/p>\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n
Cardinals (RHP Kyle Leahy, 7-4, 3.73) at Angels (RHP Jos\u00e9 Soriano, 8-6, 3.49), Monday, 7:10 p.m., ESPN, 830 AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANAHEIM \u2014 With each passing game, it becomes more apparent that Nolan Schanuel\u2019s bad ankle was most of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2390],"tags":[291,5,1165,446,3223,774,56,3224,3222,4,185],"class_list":["post-756245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-angels","tag-angels","tag-baseball","tag-la","tag-la-angels","tag-laangels","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesangels","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116948969937113495","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}