Offseason strategy paying off as Drury heats up in team effort
ANAHEIM — The Angels’ technique within the offseason was clear. They needed to enhance their general depth, which is why the membership signed Brandon Drury to a two-year deal and traded for veterans Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela.
And to date this season, the early returns have been promising, and it was evident in opposition to the Astros on Monday. Renfroe homered, and Drury delivered a go-ahead RBI triple within the eighth inning to assist carry the Angels to a 6-4 win within the collection opener at Angel Stadium.
“It felt good,” Drury stated. “Any time you can do something good to help the team win, especially against a good team like the Astros, it feels awesome. It’s still super early in the season, but it’s always good to win big games against good teams.”
Drury received off to a gradual begin offensively however has been heating up over the previous few weeks, hitting .314/.364/.804 with six homers, three doubles, two triples and 15 RBIs over his final 13 video games. He’s additionally posted a .905 OPS with two homers, a double and a triple in six video games in May. It’s helped him increase his OPS from .477 on April 23 to a way more respectable .776 OPS in 33 video games this season.
Drury stated the important thing has been working with hitting coach Marcus Thames to be extra aggressive on the plate, and Thames reminded him of that recommendation earlier than his triple off reliever Rafael Montero. Drury, who was 0-for-3 with a strikeout heading into the at-bat, jumped on a first-pitch sinker down the center and smacked it off the wall in middle area to attain Anthony Rendon from first base.
He grew to become the primary Angels participant to hit an RBI triple within the eighth inning or later since C.J. Cron on Sept. 5, 2017, at Oakland. And the final Angels participant to do it at dwelling was Cliff Pennington on Aug. 16. 2016, in opposition to the Mariners.
“My first few at-bats, I got away [from being aggressive] and was getting down in the count, so Marcus was telling me, ‘Go be aggressive. That’s what works for you and makes you good,’” Drury stated. “So I was just being aggressive there and got a good pitch to hit.”
Angels supervisor Phil Nevin has preferred what he’s been seeing from Drury in latest weeks and believes he’s trying extra just like the participant who received a Silver Slugger with the Reds and Padres final yr.
“Marcus has been preaching to him [to] stay aggressive in the zone and get a pitch to hit early in the count,” Nevin stated. “The eighth inning was a perfect example of that. He got a really good pitch in his zone to hit. It was a pitch down and away, and he hit the heck out of it to center field. It was a really, really big hit for him.”
Drury’s go-ahead triple was a part of an general workforce effort, as each Angels batter besides celebrity Mike Trout had a success. Renfroe homered within the second inning, whereas Shohei Ohtani had RBI doubles in each the third and fifth frames.
Taylor Ward, who moved again into the leadoff spot, went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored and believes the improved depth makes the lineup harmful.
“I feel bad for the pitchers out there because there’s really no stop,” Ward stated. “You just never know when they’re going to make a bad pitch and be regretting it. So it’s pretty cool, and we just want to keep it rolling.”
Nevin stated the one draw back to the higher depth is having to bench succesful gamers equivalent to Luis Rengifo, who wasn’t within the lineup on Monday, however is predicted to be again in there on Tuesday in opposition to lefty Framber Valdez.
“That’s one of the things we focused on this winter, absolutely,” Nevin stated of the depth. “There’s tough decisions every night. There are hard conversations to be had. But everybody in that room wants to win and understands what we’re doing.”
The offense helped again lefty Patrick Sandoval, who allowed 4 runs over 6 ⅓ innings and famous that Monday was the sort of win that has eluded the Angels lately. It was telling that in a recreation that Trout went 0-for-4 that the offense was nonetheless in a position to put up 11 hits and 6 runs in opposition to a high quality workforce.
“It was huge,” Sandoval stated. “Over the last two or three years, I don’t think we pull that one out, to be honest with you. It was a big one for us today.”
