May 12, 2017 Page 1 of 23

Clips

(May 12, 2017)

May 12, 2017 Page 2 of 23

Today’s Clips Contents

FROM LOS ANGELES TIMES (Page 3)

● Angels blown out by Tigers

● Mike Trout returns to Angels lineup as designated hitter

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 6)

● Angels lose despite Mike Trout’s return

● Angels Notes: Could Kaleb Cowart be the answer at second?

● Mike Trout returns to the Angels’ lineup

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 10)

● Trout returns as DH to ease back into action

● Angels can't recover from early deficit

● Shoemaker aims to keep dominating Tigers

● Ramirez settles in after early struggles

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 14)

● Upton, Fulmer lead Tigers to rare win at Angels, 7-1

FROM ESPN.COM (Page 16)

● Death, taxes and Mike Trout's WAR

● Mike Trout returns after missing 5 games with tight hamstring

FROM DETROIT FREE PRESS (Page 22)

● Powered by Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers take it to Angels, 7-1

May 12, 2017 Page 3 of 23

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Angels blown out by Tigers

By Steve Dilbeck

Here JC Ramirez had been something of an unexpected bright spot in the Angels’ patchwork rotation.

Alas, then came Thursday night, and out went his surprising dominance.

Ramirez gave up a three-run homer to Justin Upton in the first inning and a two-run homer to ex-

Angel Andrew Romine in the second and the Detroit Tigers strolled to a 7-1 victory.

Ramirez, 28, had spent his entire career in the bullpen until the Angels placed him in their patchwork

rotation last month. In his previous four starts the hard-throwing Ramirez sported a 2.28 ERA, struck out

27 and walked seven.

He did settle down after the second inning, at one point retiring 10 consecutive batters, but with the

Angels offense struggling against Detroit’s Michael Fulmer despite the return of Mike Trout, the damage

had been done.

Ramirez (3-3) at least spared the Angels a complete meltdown that could have left the bullpen

beleaguered for a four-game series against Detroit, managing to pitch seven innings.

“The first inning has been huge for me in all the games I’ve been starting,” Ramirez said. “I don’t know

why. Then I bounce back. Maybe I need to be more focused, be more mentally prepared for that first

inning.”

He gave up five runs on eight hits, seven in the first two innings. He struck out four and walked one.

It was the first time he’d pitched past the sixth inning, but it was only the sixth start of his career.

Fulmer, last year’s American League rookie of the year, kept the Angels off-balance most of the night,

though of late that has not been a gargantuan undertaking.

In 11 of their last 17 games, the Angels have been limited to three runs or fewer.

“We have probably a handful of guys in our lineup right now struggling to find their rhythm,” manager

Mike Scioscia said. “They’re not seeing the ball as well as they can. We have some guys just fighting

themselves who need to just exhale and take a step back, and that’s what we’re working on.

“We know we’re better on the offensive side.”

Fulmer (4-1) went seven strong innings, holding the Angels to one run on three hits. He walked two,

struck out seven and generally looked like a guy in control.

May 12, 2017 Page 4 of 23

The Angels were naturally hoping for an offensive spark with the return of Trout, who had sat out the

previous five games because of a tight hamstring.

Easing him back, the Angels decided to start him at designated hitter and spare his legs the long outfield

runs that normally come with playing center field.

Trout, however, went hitless in four at-bats, ending his 17-game hitting streak.

He did look explosive out of the box and appeared to run without discomfort, so there was that.

The Angels scored their lone run in the fifth when Cliff Pennington, starting for struggling second

baseman Danny Espinoza (0 for 34), walked with two outs and scored on a Yunel Escobar double.

Escobar had three of the Angels’ four hits.

Ramirez, whose first 111 appearances had come as a reliever, opened the night for the Angels looking

like someone who would not be around long.

The first two innings, everything hit against him seemed to be crushed.

In the first Ian Kinsler and Nick Castellanos singled and, two outs later, Upton drilled his seventh home

run to deep center field.

In the second inning James McCann singled and Romine followed with his second home run.

It was very early, but it already felt like a rout.

The Angels had won 23 of their last 30 games against the Tigers, but they would go quietly Thursday.

Mike Trout returns to Angels lineup as designated hitter

By Steve Dilbeck

And then he was back, which is kind of important since the Angels consider Mike Trout not only their

best player but the best player in baseball.

After missing the last five games, and six of the last seven, with a tight left hamstring, Trout returned to

the Angels lineup Thursday as their designated hitter.

“It’s good to be back,” Trout said. “I’m 100%.”

Long term his absence may have been brief, but it wasn’t easy for him or the team. The Angels went 2-4

without him.

“It’s frustrating,” Trout said. “You want to be out there. Treatment after a while gets boring.”

Trout had an MRI exam Sunday that returned clean, boosting his confidence the injury was not more

serious than initially diagnosed.

May 12, 2017 Page 5 of 23

“When the MRI came back clean it made me mentally clear,” he said. “I was worried a little bit, but you

hear news like that and it makes you confident. And when you don’t feel any pain, that’s even better.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia previously had expressed some reservation about starting Trout at DH

instead of his customary center-field spot, concerned his leg would struggle to remain warm sitting on

the bench between at-bats.

But Scioscia said after discussing the situation with the team’s medical staff, he was assured it would not

be an issue.

“They think it’s a better transition,” Scioscia said. “They’re really comfortable that they can keep him

loose in between at-bats, and not have to expand his workload to go running balls from gap to gap

today.”

Trout at designated hitter meant normal DH Albert Pujols made only his second start of the season at

first base.

Trout said he would ride a stationary bike or run on a treadmill to keep his legs loose between innings.

In his first two at-bats Thursday, he exploded out of the batter’s box on grounders and ran well.

Bailey still out

Reliever Andrew Bailey had to temporarily back off his throwing program when his inflamed right

shoulder gave him some slight discomfort throwing off a mound. He was back to long toss Thursday.

“I really don’t have a timetable or anything like that,” Bailey said. “Get back on the mound pretty soon,

that’s my goal. Then we’ll continue to go from there.”

Bailey had not given up a run in his first three games, when the shoulder flared up and he went on the

10-day disabled list April 12.

Short hops

Danny Espinosa, hitless in his last 34 at-bats — and in a two-for-52 skid — did not start for the second

time in three games. Said Scioscia: “We’re definitely a better team with Danny doing what he can do.

[But] the team concept comes first.” … Trout attended the Ducks’ Game 7 win over Edmonton on

Wednesday night after the team returned from their day game in Oakland. Said Trout: “Game 7 was

sick.” … Scioscia said closer Cam Bedrosian (right groin strain) was not yet ready to pitch off a mound

and that reliever Huston Street (right lat strain) had returned to the team complex in Arizona to

continue his rehab and should be throwing to hitters next week.

May 12, 2017 Page 6 of 23

FROM ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Angels lose despite Mike Trout’s return

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — The good news was that Mike Trout returned to the Angels lineup.

The bad news was that not even he could overcome a quick five-run deficit that was the result of two

homers allowed by J.C. Ramirez.

Before Trout even stepped into the batter’s box for the first time in Thursday’s game, the Angels already

trailed by three runs on their way a 7-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

ADVERTISING

Trout started at DH after missing five consecutive games with a tight hamstring. He went hitless in four at-

bats, ending the 17-game hitting streak that had been on hold for nearly a week.

“I’m just happy to be back,” Trout said before the game. “I’m 100 percent.”

His happiness might have begun to wane when Ramirez’s 17th pitch of the game was crushed by Justin

Upton, some 414 feet, onto the green background beyond center field. The three-run homer provided too

deep of a hole for the Angels to overcome — even with Trout — against Detroit righty Michael Fulmer,

who dominated in the manner that won him the Rookie of the Year award last year.

Ramirez gave up a two-run homer in the second, to former Angels infielder Andrew Romine (Trabuco Hills

High), and that was pretty much the game.

At least the Angel Stadium fans got to see Trout bat, which was certainly a welcome development after the

longest hiatus in his career as an everyday player.

Previously, he had missed as many as three straight games just once, back in 2013. This time, what was

supposed to be one day off last week turned into five straight games out of the lineup after Trout tweaked

his hamstring last Friday night.

That left him to spend each day sitting and stewing, desperate to get back into the lineup.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “I wanted to be out there. Treatment after a while gets boring. It’s good to be

back in the lineup. You always want to be out there.”

He wasn’t quite “out there” where he wanted to be, because he wasn’t in center field. Although Manager

Mike Scioscia had expressed some concern in recent days that DH might be problematic because his

hamstring could tighten in between at-bats, the trainers said they would keep Trout moving, on a treadmill

or bike, when he’s not needed to hit.

Trout said he planned to return to center field on Friday night.

May 12, 2017 Page 7 of 23

He also showed that he’s not going to be afraid to run at 100 percent. In Trout’s first at-bat of the game, he

hit a routine grounder to short and then busted it down the line at his normal speed. He was still out. He

had to run hard again after a ground ball in his second at-bat.

“It felt good,” Trout said. “That’s how baseball is. First at-bat tested it, and it felt fine. … It frees your mind

a little bit, after you haven’t done anything in that speed in six days.”

Trout said he had no reservations about running hard because an MRI on Sunday night had come back

clean.

“I was worried a little bit, but you hear good news and it makes you feel confident,” he said.

Aside from Trout’s return, about the only good news for the Angels was that Ramirez rebounded from his

rough start to pitch seven innings. At one point he retired 10 hitters in a row, which saved the Angels’

overworked bullpen from what may have been a long night.

Ramirez lamented that he’s struggled in the first innings of his starts, allowing eight runs in six games.

“The first inning has been huge for me,” he said. “All the games I’ve started. I don’t know why. I have been

giving up runs in that inning and then I bounce back. I have to be more focused and be more mentally

prepared for that first inning. That was huge for me.”

The biggest mistake in the first inning was a first-pitch slider to Upton, who did what hitters are supposed

to do with breaking balls over the middle of the plate.

“I hang it,” Ramirez said, “they bang it.”

Angels Notes: Could Kaleb Cowart be the answer at second?

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — As the Angels search for an answer to their second base hole while Danny Espinosa works

through a lengthy slump, Kaleb Cowart is putting up impressive numbers at Triple-A.

But it doesn’t sound like Cowart is ready to get a shot as the Angels’ second baseman. Not yet anyway.

Manager Mike Scioscia said this week that, although Cowart has made progress defensively at second, he

still has work to do.

“It’s one thing to field ground balls, and it’s another thing to get the experience, to understand the

nuances that make a major league second baseman,” Scioscia said. “He needs some experience there, for

sure. But the potential is there.”

Cowart was drafted as a third baseman — a position at which he’s already outstanding defensively — but

as his progress slowed with the bat, the Angels began moving him around to prep for a possible role as a

big league utility player.

May 12, 2017 Page 8 of 23

Last season he played 15 games at second in the majors and 14 in Triple-A, his first season playing the

position. This year he has played just five games at second in the minors, with the rest at third. He worked

out at second throughout spring training, too.

Offensively, Cowart is showing signs of improvement. He was hitting .283 with a .396 on-base percentage

prior to Thursday’s game.

“He feels real good at where his swing is, which is allowing him a little more extension,” Scioscia said. “We

saw some things in the spring with him being able to drive the ball a little better. His contact point is out in

front where he’s able to leverage a ball better and getting it up and driving it out of the park. But you have

to maintain it.”

Meanwhile, the frustration is building around Espinosa, whose hitless streak reached 34 at-bats on

Wednesday afternoon. The Angels have been playing Cliff Pennington about half the time.

“He’s really mired in a downturn that is bringing a frustration level to him that we need to try to get rid of,”

Scioscia said. “The only way to do that is for him to exhale a little bit. We’ll definitely bring Cliff in at times.

“We know how important Danny is to the big picture. Our goal is to get him there. At times you have to try

to insert someone who will give you a little better at-bat.”

SETBACK FOR BAILEY

Andrew Bailey, who has been out for a month with a shoulder problem, is now in a “holding pattern,” he

said, after he felt some discomfort following Friday’s bullpen session.

Bailey said he stopped throwing for a few days, although now he’s resumed. He won’t get back on the

mound until the issue is gone.

“It’s frustrating but we have to take it one day at a time,” Bailey said. “Just listen to the trainers and

doctors and continue to move forward.”

ALSO

Huston Street (lat) has moved his rehab to the Angels’ complex in Arizona. Scioscia said he will continue

throwing bullpen sessions there, and hopefully he will be facing hitters within the week. Street is on the

60-day disabled list, so he’s not eligible to be activated until June 1. He has said he believes he’ll be ready

around then. …

C.J. Cron had two doubles in four at-bats on Thursday night for in his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt

Lake City. He played all nine innings at first base. Cron is on the disabled list because of a bruised foot,

which is healed. He was hit in the hand by a pitch during the first game of his rehab assignment on Sunday,

and he didn’t play again until Thursday. The Angels are unsure how many at-bats he’ll need at Salt Lake

City, but there is no pressing need to bring him up to the majors because the Angels are facing almost all

right-handed pitchers, and Luis Valbuena starts at first against righties.

May 12, 2017 Page 9 of 23

Mike Trout returns to the Angels’ lineup

By Jeff Fletcher

ANAHEIM — The longest hiatus of Mike Trout’s career as an everyday player is over.

Trout is in the Angels’ lineup at designated hitter for Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers,

ending a streak of five straight games in which he was out because of a tight left hamstring.

“I’m just happy to be back,” Trout said. “I’m 100 percent.”

Trout said that the trainers wanted him to DH, instead of playing center field, because that would be an

easier transition. Although Manager Mike Scioscia had expressed some concern in recent days that DH

might be problematic because his hamstring could tighten in between at-bats, the trainers said they would

keep Trout moving, on a treadmill or bike, when he’s not needed to hit.

Scioscia also said that Trout would not be limited running the bases.

“We anticipate him 100 percent,” Scioscia said.

The Angels lost four of the six games they played without Trout, including last Thursday in Seattle, and

they scored more than three runs in just one of the games.

The injury ended up being more serious than first thought. After Trout initially took a day off, he came

back and played last Friday, but he tweaked his hamstring chasing a fly ball in the gap. The next night he

was scratched just before the first pitch, and he didn’t play since.

On Sunday night the Angels had Trout undergo an MRI exam, which came back clean.

“When the MRI came back clean, it made me mentally clear,” Trout said. “I was worried a little bit, but you

hear good news and it makes you feel confident.”

Trout had said on Monday morning that he hoped to play Tuesday, but the Angels played it safe and he

missed all three games in Oakland.

Prior to this incident, the most consecutive games that Trout missed during his career as an everyday

player was three, back in 2013.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “I wanted to be out there. Treatment after a while gets boring. It’s good to be

back in the lineup. You always want to be out there.”

May 12, 2017 Page 10 of 23

FROM ANGELS.COM

Trout returns as DH to ease back into action

Angels outfielder goes 0-for-4, snaps 17-game hitting streak

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Angels star Mike Trout returned to the lineup for Thursday night's 7-1 loss to the Tigers

after missing five consecutive games with a tight left hamstring -- his longest absence since he became

an everyday player in 2012. Trout served as the designated hitter in the Halos' series opener against the

Tigers and said he expects to start in center field Friday.

"I'm 100 percent," Trout said. "Sitting on the bench, it's not fun. You want to be out there with your

guys. I'm just happy I'm back."

Trout went 0-for-4 in his return, snapping his career-high 17-game hitting streak.

Manager Mike Scioscia said the club decided to have Trout DH rather than play outfield on Thursday to

slowly ease him back into action.

"In consulting with our medical department, they think it's a better transition," Scioscia said. "They're

really comfortable with the fact that they can keep him loose in between at-bats, which can be 45

minutes apart, and not have to have him expand his workload to go running balls down from gap to gap

today. We're going to get a read on him to make sure he's good to DH, which we're very comfortable he

is. Mike said he's ready to go."

Trout said he doesn't expect his hamstring to restrict his baserunning. The 25-year-old underwent an

MRI on Monday that came back clean.

"When the MRI came back, it made me mentally clear," Trout said. "I was worried a little bit. But when

you hear good news like that, it makes you feel confident. And when you don't feel anything, it's even

better."

Trout's return is welcome news for the Angels, who went 2-4 over the six games that the reigning

American League Most Valuable Player sat out due to the bothersome hamstring. Trout is batting .355

with a 1.146 OPS, eight home runs, 21 RBIs and five stolen bases over 30 games this season.

Worth noting

• Danny Espinosa, who is hitless in his last 34 at-bats, received another day off Thursday, with Cliff

Pennington starting at second base in his place. Espinosa's slump has caused his batting average to sink

to .138 -- the lowest mark among qualified batters in the Majors.

May 12, 2017 Page 11 of 23

"We love the way Danny brings defense at second base, he's terrific, but he's really mired in a downturn

that is bringing a frustration level to him that we need to try to get rid of," Scioscia said. "And the only

way to do that is for him to exhale a little bit."

Espinosa's offensive struggles have resulted in more playing time for Pennington, who has now started

five of the Angels' last nine games.

• Right-hander Huston Street (right lat strain) has shifted his rehab to Arizona and is slated to face

hitters later this week, Scioscia said. Fellow reliever Cam Bedrosian (right groin strain) continues to

advance in his throwing progression, but has still not thrown off the mound. Right-hander Andrew

Bailey (right shoulder inflammation), meanwhile, said his shoulder flared up a bit Friday when he was

throwing the third bullpen session of his recovery, forcing him to stop from throwing for four days.

Bailey said he resumed throwing Wednesday and Thursday, and is now "taking it day by day."

"I'm kind of in a holding pattern for a little bit," Bailey said. "Just got to listen and be honest. It's

frustrating, but you've always got to take it one day at a time."

• C.J. Cron, who was hit by a pitch in the right wrist while playing in his first rehab game Sunday, started

and played nine innings at first base for Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Cron landed on the disabled list with a left foot contusion on April 29.

Angels can't recover from early deficit

By Maria Guardado and Chad Thornburg / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Mike Trout's return to the lineup wasn't enough to spark the Angels on Thursday night,

as Justin Upton and Andrew Romine homered to back a dominant start from Michael Fulmer, lifting the

Tigers to a 7-1 series-opening victory at Angel Stadium.

The Tigers entered Thursday with a 3-17 mark at the Big A since 2011, but it didn't take them long to

find success against Angels right-hander JC Ramirez, whosurrendered a three-run homer to Upton in the

first and a two-run shot to Romine in the second to put the Halos in a 5-0 hole.

Less than a week after making his best start of the season, Fulmer again turned in a dominant

performance, holding the Angels to one run on three hits, allowing only an RBI double to Yunel

Escobar that cut Detroit's lead to 5-1 in the fifth. The 24-year-old right-hander struck out seven batters

over seven innings, tossing a career-high 114 pitches.

"He had very good stuff again tonight," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Went deep into the game,

kept them off balance, they didn't square up a lot of balls. He kind of set the tone for us."

Ian Kinsler, who returned to action after missing five games with left hamstring tightness, went 3-for-4

with a walk, while James McCann and Miguel Cabrera also drove in one run apiece for the Tigers.

Trout, meanwhile, went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter after sitting out the Angels' previous five games

with a hamstring issue, snapping his career-high 17-game hitting streak.

May 12, 2017 Page 12 of 23

"It felt good," said Trout, who ran hard down the line while trying to beat out a grounder to

shortstop Jose Iglesias in his first at-bat of the evening. "That's how baseball is. First at-bat tested it, and

it felt fine."

Escobar, who accounted for three of the Angels' four hits, produced his 13th multi-hit game of the

season and is now batting .367 (18-for-49) over his last 11 games.

"Yunel's been swinging the bat much better the last 10 games or so, so it's good to see him back where

he needs to be," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We've got probably a handful of guys in our lineup

who are right now struggling for a little rhythm. They're not seeing the ball as well as they can. We've

got some guys that are just finding themselves, and they need to exhale and kind of take a step back.

That's what we're working toward. Hopefully we'll get there."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Upton's first-inning bomb: Ramirez stumbled into an early jam after the Tigers opened the game with

back-to-back singles from Kinsler and Nicholas Castellanos. Ramirez came close to avoiding damage, as

he struck out Cabrera and induced a flyout from Victor Martinez for the first two outs of the inning, but

he then hung a first-pitch slider to Upton, who crushed a three-run home run to deep center field, giving

the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Upton's seventh homer of the season had an exit velocity of 103 mph and traveled a projected 414 feet,

according to Statcast™. Angels pitchers have now allowed 54 home runs this year, the most in the

Majors.

Angels can't capitalize in the third: The Halos had a chance to chip away at their five-run deficit in the

third after Cliff Pennington and Escobar strung together consecutive two-out singles off Fulmer. That

brought up Kole Calhoun and placed Trout on the on-deck circle. Calhoun worked an eight-pitch at-bat,

but squandered the scoring opportunity by striking out swinging on a 3-2 fastball.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Fulmer set career-best marks for total pitches (114) and called strikes (22). He's 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA

through 19 2/3 innings in his career vs. the Angels.

"My fastball command was there for the most part, especially early in the game," Fulmer said. "I thought

[McCann] did a great job receiving pitches as well. Maybe got a couple [strikes] called that were maybe

just a little bit off the plate or a little up, but that gives credit to James. He does a great job back there,

he works his butt off at it and it's paying off."

WHAT'S NEXT

Tigers: Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann will toe the rubber against the Tigers at Angel Stadium on

Friday at 10:07 p.m. ET. He's coming off a no-decision last week in Oakland in which he allowed four

runs through 5 2/3 innings.

Angels: Right-hander Matt Shoemaker (1-2, 5.21 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season on Friday

night when the Angels continue their four-game series against the Tigers at 7:07 p.m. PT at Angel

May 12, 2017 Page 13 of 23

Stadium. Shoemaker was charged with the loss in his last start against the Astros on Sunday after

allowing five runs over six innings.

Shoemaker aims to keep dominating Tigers

By Chad Thornburg / MLB.com

The Angels have dominated Detroit over the last five years, with wins in 23 of the last 30 matchups. The

Tigers haven't won a series at Angel Stadium since Aug. 24-26, 2009.

That recent history is far from Detroit manager Brad Ausmus' mind, however. He said before Thursday

night's series-opening 7-1 victory that it has no bearing in how his club is approaching this series.

"It's a new day," Ausmus said. "Rosters change, we have some new faces, they have some new faces.

Really couldn't care any less about it. I look at it the way I look at our record against the Indians last year

[4-14]. It's an anomaly. Given time, it'll correct itself."

The Tigers will send right-hander Jordan Zimmermann to the mound in the second game of the series

Friday. He'll be opposed by Matt Shoemaker, who's been at his best when facing the Tigers. His 1.01 ERA

through four career starts against Detroit is his lowest for any team he's faced more than once.

Things to know about this game

• Shoemaker was tagged for five earned runs on five hits, including two homers, in six-plus innings

Saturday in Oakland. He has given up nine home runs in 38 innings this season, after yielding 18 in 160

innings in 2016.

• Zimmermann's four-seam fastball has been hit hard this season. When he ends an at-bat with that

pitch, opponents are slugging .745, second highest in the Majors (minimum 40 at-bats). Zimmermann is

the only pitcher to have allowed seven home runs on four-seamers.

• Angels slugger Albert Pujols is four home runs shy of a milestone 600. He's also two RBIs away from

tying Carl Yastrzemski for 11th on MLB's all-time list (1,844).

Ramirez settles in after early struggles

Angels starter gives up two homers in loss to Tigers

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Since moving into the rotation, JC Ramirez has been most vulnerable in the first inning, a

trend that once again proved true in the Angels' 7-1 loss to the Tigers on Thursday night at Angel

Stadium.

Ramirez surrendered a three-run home run to Justin Upton in the first and a two-run shot to Andrew

Romine in the second, two major blows that doomed the Halos early. Eight of the 16 runs that Ramirez

has allowed since becoming a starter have been in the first inning, resulting in a 12.00 ERA in that frame.

May 12, 2017 Page 14 of 23

"First inning, I was missing location," Ramirez said. "But I think the first inning has been huge for me in

all games since I started. I don't know why I've been giving up runs this inning, and then I bounce back. I

think it's something I need to work on. Maybe I need to be more focused and be more mentally

prepared for that first inning."

The Tigers opened the game with back-to-back singles from Ian Kinsler and Nicholas Castellanos, though

Ramirez nearly escaped trouble by striking out Miguel Cabrera and coaxing a flyout from Victor

Martinez to record the first two outs of the inning. But Ramirez left a first-pitch slider over the heart of

the plate to Upton, who hammered it an estimated 414 feet to center field.

In the second, Ramirez yielded a leadoff single to James McCann and then left a fastball up to Romine,

who smashed it over the right-field fence to sink the Angels into a 5-0 hole.

"I hang it, they bang it," Ramirez said. "That was all, I guess."

Even with Mike Trout back in the lineup, the Angels could not overcome the early five-run deficit and

mustered only four hits against reigning American League Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer. Perhaps

the only bright spot of the night was that Ramirez eventually settled in and pitched seven innings,

allowing five runs on eight hits and retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced.

"It really comes down to a couple pitches," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Ramirez. "Outside of

that, he settled in and threw the ball the way we had expected. So it came down to a couple pitches

early, and once Fulmer got a lead -- he's got good stuff and he pitched a strong game for them."

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Upton, Fulmer lead Tigers to rare win at Angels, 7-1

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Detroit Tigers have been mostly miserable at Angel Stadium over the past several

years, losing seven consecutive series and struggling for even the smallest wins.

Giving a five-run lead to Michael Fulmer before he takes the mound in the second inning is a pretty good

way to fix those woes.

Justin Upton hit a three-run homer and Fulmer pitched seven innings of three-hit ball in the Tigers' 7-1

victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.

Andrew Romine hit a two-run homer as the Tigers got a rare win over the Angels in the opener of a four-

game series at the Big A, where Detroit hasn't won a series since August 2009. The Tigers also improved

to 7-23 against Los Angeles since September 2012.

"That's one game, and we're not concerned about last year," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said.

May 12, 2017 Page 15 of 23

Still, the Tigers put together a comprehensive effort to improve to 3-3 on their nine-game West Coast

road trip. Upton connected with two outs in the first inning for his seventh homer of the season, and the

Tigers were never threatened.

Fulmer (4-1) was largely outstanding, walking two and striking out seven to improve to 3-0 in his last

four starts.

"My goal is to get deep into games and throw strikes and not give up quality contact," Fulmer said.

Yunel Escobar had an RBI double for the Angels, who opened a seven-game homestand with their

seventh loss in nine games.

TROUTBACK

Mike Trout went 0 for 4 as the Angels' designated hitter after missing five straight games and six of the

previous seven with a tight left hamstring -- the most significant injury to date in his spectacular big-

league career.

"It wasn't fun," Trout said of sitting out. "You want to be out there. ... I missed some pitches tonight,

fouled off some I should hit, but that's baseball."

The two-time AL MVP hadn't played since last Friday, and his 17-game hitting streak ended. But he also

felt strong on his legs while sprinting to run out two early ground balls, raising his confidence in his

ability to return to center field Friday.

"Felt good," Trout said. "(The ground balls) clear your mind a little bit. Haven't done anything that speed

in six days, but it felt fine."

RAMIREZ'S SLOW START

J.C. Ramirez (3-3) settled down to yield eight hits over seven innings, but couldn't overcome early

mistakes that allowed Detroit to lead 5-0 after its first eight batters. Ramirez retired 10 straight Tigers

and allowed just one runner past first base in his final five innings.

"It really came down to a couple of early pitches," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "Outside of

that, he settled in and threw the ball the way we expected. Once Fulmer got a lead, he's got strong stuff,

and he pitched a good game for them."

ADDUCI INJURED

Romine was a late addition to the Tigers' lineup when Jim Adduci was scratched with a right oblique

muscle injury, and he promptly hit his second homer of the season in the second inning. Ausmus said

Adduci is probably headed to the disabled list, and injured outfielder J.D. Martinez is expected to join

the Tigers in Anaheim on Friday. Martinez hasn't played yet this season after spraining his foot in spring

training.

SLUMPING

May 12, 2017 Page 16 of 23

The Angels benched 2B Danny Espinosa, who is mired in an 0-for-34 slump. Cliff Pennington started in

Espinosa's place for the fifth time in nine games.

"We've got a handful of guys in our lineup that are struggling for rhythm," Scioscia said. "We know we'll

be better."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Tigers: 2B Ian Kinsler returned to the leadoff spot after missing five games with left hamstring tightness.

He went 3 for 4 and scored two runs.

Angels: With Trout as the DH, Albert Pujols played first base. The slugger was charged with an error in

the second inning when he couldn't snag a high throw from Andrelton Simmons.

UP NEXT

Tigers: Jordan Zimmermann (3-1, 6.21 ERA) is getting results despite allowing 23 runs in 33 1/3 innings.

He has made just one career start against the Angels, losing a four-hitter on an unearned run in Anaheim

in June 2011.

Angels: Matt Shoemaker (1-2, 5.21 ERA) has a 1.01 career ERA against Detroit, but the Wyandotte,

Michigan, native lost to the Tigers for the first time in his career last June in Anaheim.

FROM ESPN.COM

Death, taxes and Mike Trout's WAR

By Sam Miller / ESPN.com

Mike Trout's season began with a 6-4-3 double play in Oakland. He didn't, to his credit, ground into a

triple play, which was technically possible in that situation. He didn't injure a teammate or accidentally

reveal his club's signs. Otherwise, though, it was the most damaging thing he could have done. He

hadn't yet played any defense in 2017, he hadn't yet run the bases, and if you looked briefly at him

walking back to the Angels' dugout, you'd have seen a near-optical illusion: Mike Trout was the least

valuable player in baseball.

Of course, Trout is pretty much always the most valuable player in baseball. Since his first full season, in

2012, this has been close to inevitable. He has led the majors in WAR, as computed by Baseball-

Reference, in all five of his full seasons; as computed by FanGraphs, four times; as computed by Baseball

Prospectus, twice. He has never finished lower than second on any of the three sites' leaderboards, he

has never failed to lead the American League, and he has never failed to lead at least one site's

leaderboard.

So we knew Trout would quickly climb out of this optical illusion. We knew he'd most likely climb past

every major league player and regain his spot at the top. We didn't know how long it would take, or

May 12, 2017 Page 17 of 23

what it would look like, or what specifically valuable things Trout would do along the way. So we

decided to see if we could watch it happen. This is the day-by-day accounting of Mike Trout's

inevitability.

Day 1 to Day 14: The inevitability of Mike Trout being good

Day 1: .16 WAR

It took Trout only one more at-bat, in fact, to get back above replacement level; he hit a pretty good

pitch 113 mph for a third-inning home run. He'd go on to ground out and double, ending Opening Day

with, according to Baseball Prospectus, .16 WAR. If he did that every day, he'd end up with 26 WAR on

the season, which would be about double the greatest season ever.

That he's not first in baseball after one day has nothing to do with him and everything to do with the

challenge of beating a huge field in small sample size competition. He trails 20 other players after Day 1.

Among them is his former teammate Jeff Mathis, the game's worst hitter over the past decade, who

knocks three hits on Opening Day. (Mathis will collect four hits in the month-plus that follows.)

But of the 20 players ahead of Trout after Opening Day, only two, Freddie Freeman and Chase Headley,

will still be ahead of him three weeks later, and only Freeman will be ahead of him the week after that.

When you see Headley at the top of a WAR leaderboard -- as he was on April 6, April 11 and April 15 --

you know he's just playing out of his mind. Headley was hitting .410 through a dozen games, then began

the inevitable regression to his normal talent level. By the end of April he was hitting .301, still good

enough for Headley to produce his best OPS in a month (.896) since September 2013. That's out-of-his-

mind Headley hanging out near the top of the leaderboard. But Trout was just playing. He wasn't

streaking, he wasn't getting lucky, he wasn't seeing the ball well. He accumulates by simply being,

because Trout doesn't slump.

This is what counts as a Mike Trout slump:

Day 2: .05 WAR

Day 3: .05

Day 4: -.06 (0-for-3 with a walk and an error)

He hits .250/.308/.500 in those three games. He makes a silly error in the outfield, letting a simple single

roll to the wall. He adds only .04 WAR in three games, which is a two-win pace over a full season. That's

an average major leaguer. That's his slump. He's out of it the next day:

Day 5: .05 WAR

Day 6: .07

Since his first full season, Trout has had one month, August 2015, in which he hit worse than the league-

average hitter. He has had only two in which he had an OPS below .800. The best metaphor for Trout is

May 12, 2017 Page 18 of 23

probably the late Bob Ross when he hosted "The Joy Of Painting" on PBS: It's calm, it's controlled, a

friendly stroke here, a happy dab there, and the end result is quietly fantastic.

There are things that even WAR, an all-in-one framework that aspires to include everything that can be

observed and measured, doesn't yet capture. On Day 3, Trout's the trailing runner in a first-and-third

situation. Albert Pujols bats. Trout takes off on the first pitch, and Pujols hits a soft line drive that

glances off the pitcher's glove and into shallow center field. The second baseman was covering for

Trout's stolen base attempt, or he might well have fielded the ball.

Trout's WAR gets no credit for that (Pujols' WAR does). Because he wasn't the lead runner on the play,

he doesn't even get extra credit for going first to third on the hit. But it's worth noting that Trout might

be having the best baserunning season of his career. He has taken the extra base (going first to third on

a single, for example) 71 percent of the time, a career best. He's 5-for-5 on stolen bases. And even when

he doesn't get credit for a stolen base, he has been valuable: Pujols, batting behind him, has hit into only

two double plays, less than half as many per plate appearance as he had previously hit while an

Angel. Happy little clouds. Every day's a good day when you're Trout.

Day 6 begins with an on-field ceremony for the presentation of Trout's AL MVP award. In his first at-bat,

he strikes out looking after a 14-pitch at-bat against Felix Hernandez. Six innings later, Trout bats again,

but Hernandez has been pulled from the game after throwing 100 pitches -- 14 of them, remember, in

one epic matchup against Trout. Evan Scribner, a homer-prone reliever, has relieved him. With one on

and one out, Trout homers, breaking a 3-3 tie. The crowd chants "MVP!" Thirty-one batters remain

ahead of him on the WAR leaderboard.

Day 7: .00 WAR

Day 8: .21

On Day 8, the Angels go into the ninth inning trailing the Rangers by three. With two outs and a runner

on first, Trout represents the tying run. He doubles to right field, driving in one run; then, when Pujols

singles to left, Trout races home safely for the tying run, despite being two long strides from third base

when left fielder Ryan Rua fields the ball on a charge. The game goes to extra innings, and in the 10th

inning, Trout robs Mike Napoli of a potential game-winning home run. (This catch was worth about 1.6

runs, according to Baseball-Reference's model for WAR, which Trout will lead the majors in by Day 10.

BP's defensive metrics work differently, so this is just a regular catch.) The Angels will win in a walk-off.

The Angels will lose the next six games. Trout will be the club's entire offense. He'll hit .368/.478/.526

while his team scores a total of nine runs in six games. Tucked in there will be the one genuinely bad

game he has all month: an 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a shutout against the Royals.

Day 9: .10 WAR

Day 10: .12

Day 11: -.02 (1-for-4)

Day 12: .08

May 12, 2017 Page 19 of 23

Day 13: -.08 (0-for-4, two strikeouts)

Day 14: .14

This is the Angels' six-game losing streak. Trout hits .368/.478/.526 and plays at a 9-WAR pace.

By this point, baseball's early-season leaderboards have begun to settle down. Trout ranks 11th in the

majors in WAR, with about two-thirds the total of MLB leader Eric Thames. Trout hasn't done anything

but play like himself. He gave the league its chance: Eighty-six players were ahead of him on the WAR

leaderboard at some point, from superstars such as Corey Seager and Nolan Arenado to one-week

wonders such as Tyler Saladino, Dustin Garneau and Manny Pina. He gave all 86 of them a head start.

Then he chased nearly all of them down, one by one, without even getting hot.

Day 15 to Day 26: The inevitability of Mike Trout being great

Day 15: .05 WAR

Day 16: .01

Day 17: .18

Day 18: .09

Day 19: .21

Day 20: .00

Day 21: .04

Day 22: .13

Day 23: -.03 (1-for-5 with a stolen base)

Day 24: .04

Day 25: .20

Day 26: .21

Here's my favorite plate appearance of Trout's season so far, more fun (to me) than even the 14-pitch

at-bat against King Felix. It was against Yu Darvish, in the third inning on April 29.

Trout falls behind 0-2. There's probably no starter in baseball tougher to hit after falling behind than

Darvish, who has eight strikeout pitches. Since Darvish made his debut in 2012, batters have hit

.111/.137/.160 after falling behind 0-2 against him, worse even than pitchers have hit against the

Rangers ace. The .297 OPS allowed is lower than any starter's in that time, except for the late Jose

Fernandez's. Nearly 60 percent of batters have struck out after falling behind 0-2 to Darvish.

Trout starts working at him, though. He fouls off a fastball, takes a slider just low and away, fouls off a

sinker on the lower inside edge of the zone, then takes a curveball inches outside. On 2-2, he gets a

fastball low, and the umpire flinches; Trout, anticipating the call, is already turned and almost arguing

before the umpire can raise his arm -- and the umpire folds, calling it a ball. Darvish and the Rangers

can't believe it. (ESPN Stats & Info estimates the pitch is a strike 20 percent of the time; Baseball

Prospectus says it's a strike 80 percent of the time. It was so close even the algorithms can't agree.)

Given one more pitch, Trout rips a 96 mph fastball on the inner edge into the left-field corner, breaking

a scoreless tie. When the throw home gets past the catcher, Trout moves to third, beating a tag by

May 12, 2017 Page 20 of 23

inches; four pitches later, he'll score on a sacrifice fly. It was speed, power, plate discipline and

situational awareness, all in one at-bat, all against one of the least hittable pitchers baseball has ever

produced.

The double extended his hitting streak to 13 games. In those 13 games, he hit .420/.482/.800. He had 10

"high-leverage" plate appearances in that time, including that plate appearance against Darvish. In those

10, he doubled three times, homered twice, walked and got hit by a pitch. On the season, he's now

hitting .500/.679/1.222 in 28 high-leverage situations. His Win Probability Added -- a stat that measures

the change in a team's likelihood of winning before and after each plate appearance, and credits the

difference to the hitter -- is, at 2.7, the best in baseball by a mile. Only five hitters in all of baseball have

a WPA even half of Mike Trout's.

When Trout was 50th in WAR, back on Day 4, it was hard for him to make up ground on the leader,

because the leader was constantly churning with each new early-season hot streak. But by now, there

are only five, then four, then one guy ahead of him. He's closing fast, and when Day 26 ends he's about

one single behind the leader, Bryce Harper:

Day 27 to Day 37 (and counting): Nothing is inevitable once it ceases to be inevitable

Among other "nevers" in Trout's superlative career is this: Trout has never really been hurt -- at least not

seriously enough to hit the disabled list. Heading into this week, according to Baseball Injury

Consultants' database, Trout had missed a total of 16 games in his major league career, for a variety of

small ailments: a viral infection, a bruised knee, back inflammation.

Trout's march to the top of the WAR leaderboard, though, takes a stumble. He sits out Day 30 with a

strained hamstring. It isn't serious, Angels manager Mike Scioscia reassures us. "If this was a playoff

game, he'd be playing," he tells reporters. But then after one game in the lineup -- Day 31, -.08 WAR,

hitting streak extended to a career-best 17 games -- Trout is scratched again Saturday. And then in each

of the next four games, before returning to action Thursday, going 0-for-4 as the DH to snap his hit

streak.

"Hamstring's a different animal," Scioscia says before the third missed game. "If your shoulder is a little

sore you can DH. When your hamstring is a little tight, you need to make sure you get it addressed. Right

now, to go out and play center field would be putting him at risk."

Aside from parochial interests, I think there are two reasons that baseball stays entertaining to most of

us even after thousands of games. The first is that we love to see the completely unexpected, and

baseball provides a lot of it: the ridiculous triple plays and the extraordinary comebacks and Eric

Thames. The second is that we love to see the completely predictable. We love the logic and steady

reliability of large samples. We love to watch Mike Trout knowing that he's going to be great, that we

can invest our attention in him and trust the inevitability of his greatness. It is reassuring.

Trout is -- still and undeniably -- the best player in baseball. He is better than Kris Bryant, who passes

him again in WAR during these missed games. He's better than Ryan Zimmerman, Freddie

May 12, 2017 Page 21 of 23

Freeman and Marcell Ozuna, who repass him during these missed games, and who broaden the gap

between Trout and the top of the leaderboard.

He is as close to inevitable as there is, and, his manager claims, he is still getting better.

"It's not like there's one play you look at and say, 'My gosh, he's getting it,'" Scioscia said Sunday. "But

experience is the best teacher there is. As you play and read those adjustments, reading the pitchers,

getting jumps, understanding the speed of the game, understanding outfielders; arms -- you see his

decision-making process becoming a lot cleaner."

Even with the missed games, Trout, at 25, remains on pace to match or top his best seasons ever,

regardless of which site's WAR you're using.

He is, it is also helpful to remember, built out of hamstrings and rotator cuffs and fingers and a neck.

Appreciate every second, because there's really only one inevitability in this sport.

Mike Trout returns after missing 5 games with tight hamstring

ESPN.com news services

Angels slugger Mike Trout returned to the lineup for Thursday night's 7-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers after

missing five consecutive games and six of the previous seven because of a tight left hamstring, the most

significant injury to date in his spectacular big league career.

Trout, the reigning AL MVP, went 0-for-4 as the designated hitter to snap his 17-game hitting streak.

"It wasn't fun," Trout said of sitting out. "You want to be out there. ... I missed some pitches tonight,

fouled off some I should hit, but that's baseball."

Trout hadn't played since last Friday. He said he felt strong on his legs while sprinting to run out two

early ground balls, raising his confidence in his ability to return to center field Friday.

"Felt good,'' Trout said. "[The ground balls] clear your mind a little bit. Haven't done anything at that

speed in six days, but it felt fine."

Trout's hamstring bothered him during warm-ups last Saturday, and he was a late scratch for a home

game against the Astros. On Monday, general manager Billy Eppler said an MRI exam came back "clean

and normal.''

Trout tested the leg by running and doing work in the outfield Wednesday, after which manager Mike

Scioscia said he was hopeful Trout would be in the lineup Thursday.

May 12, 2017 Page 22 of 23

FROM DETROIT FREE PRESS

Powered by Michael Fulmer, Detroit Tigers take it to Angels, 7-1

By Anthony Fenech. Detroit Free Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Brad Ausmus was asked before Thursday night’s series opener against the Los Angeles

Angels why his team could not win here.

Heading into the game, the Detroit Tigers haven’t won a series at Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 2009.

In that span, they went 5-18, getting outscored, 121-60.

“It’s a new day,” he said.

And on this new day – the first matchup of a four-game set – Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer was

starting and throwing stuff that should scare the rest of baseball.

Fulmer has been good. And he’s getting better.

Propelled by an early power show courtesy of Justin Upton and Andrew Romine and with Fulmer looking

in midseason form, the Tigers took it to the Angels, 7-1.

“Michael Fulmer kind of picked up where he left off in Oakland,” Ausmus said. “He had very good stuff

again tonight. He kind of set the tone for us.”

Upton put the Tigers ahead from the get-go with monster home run in the top of the first inning, his

seventh of the season, to dead centerfield. It was a three-run shot, giving Fulmer all the offense he

would need.

Romine – a late entry to the lineup when Jim Adduci was scratched with a right oblique injury – hit a

two-run home run down the rightfield line in the second inning.

“It lets you go out there and breathe a little bit,” Fulmer said.

The Tigers’ offense quieted against Angels righty J.C. Romero from there, but the outcome was never in

question.

Not with Fulmer, showing the same kind of stuff he showed in this stadium at this time last season,

when he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Fulmer was overpowering, limiting the Angels to one run on three hits over seven innings. He walked

two and struck out seven.

He retired the first eight batters of the game until allowing back-to-back singles in the third inning,

stranding them on base. He allowed one more hit the rest of the way. It came on a Yunel Escobar double

in the fifth inning. On the play, Tyler Collins slipped in rightfield.

May 12, 2017 Page 23 of 23

“Last year, this trip is what got my season going. I couldn’t tell you what it is,” Fulmer said. “Maybe it’s

the body clock being woken up a little bit or whatever, but I felt good tonight, just glad to get a team

win.”

Fulmer has recorded a quality start in each of his first seven starts. His ERA is 2.54.

There was promise throughout the Tigers’ lineup, beginning with lead-off hitter Ian Kinsler, who, after

missing five games with a left hamstring issue, went 3-for-4 with a walk. Near the bottom of the lineup,

James McCann continued to show signs he was breaking out of a slump, going 3-for-4.

All of McCann’s hits came against right-handed pitchers. He hit an RBI double in the eighth inning.

In his first game since getting demoted from the closer’s role, Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless

ninth inning.

“I think tonight was all-around,” Fulmer said. “Everybody did their job. Offense, defense and the

bullpen.”

With the win, the Tigers pull above the .500 mark. They are 17-16. Perhaps more importantly, they

delivered a first punch against an Angels team they have struggled to beat on the road in years past.

“I’m not concerned about last year,” Ausmus said. “It’s one game at a time.”