WEST SACRAMENTO — Angels manager Kurt Suzuki came to the ballpark Saturday with a smile on his face after Friday night’s collapse.
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“It’s a new day,” Suzuki said. “Baseball is such a game of super highs and super lows, right? It’s having a short memory, and the beauty of it is you play the next day. The clubhouse was good, the energy was good.”
Suzuki also said he pushed back the reporting time for his players Saturday to give them a little extra rest.
Relief pitcher Sam Bachman gave up the tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday. He was a starting pitcher in the minors through 2024.
“Just more of a focus on one pitch at a time,” Bachman said before Saturday’s game when asked about finding his approach in a relief role. “It’s the same process, just smaller samples. (If I can) just take care of business on that front, I think it’ll be good.”
ANOTHER DANCE WITH GINN
The last time the Angels faced A’s starter J.T. Ginn on May 18, he completed eight innings without allowing a hit. In a span of six pitches in the ninth, Ginn went from chasing history to being chased off the field after Zach Neto’s walk-off homer.
“I don’t want to say I got lucky,” Neto said before Saturday’s game, “but I bet that’s a pitch he’d want back.”
Just over a month later, Ginn gets another shot.
Since that game, Ginn has made five starts and posted a 2.77 ERA. The only A’s pitcher with a better mark in that span is Gage Jump, who threw seven scoreless innings against the Angels on Thursday.
“They have more righties in the lineup than I normally get to face, so I know the sinker and slider are going to play more,” Ginn said Friday. “They were pretty aggressive the first time through, so we’ll see what they’re going to do this time.”
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe said the Angels are an aggressive group regardless of who they are facing. He has also found his stroke at the plate since that game. On this road trip, he is 7 for 15, and he is coming off a 3-for-4 performance with a walk Friday night.
So how will his approach be different?
“When things are going well at the plate, I definitely sell out more on my strengths in what I’m looking for rather than trying to adapt to him,” O’Hoppe said Friday.
In their last meeting, O’Hoppe believed he was too reactive to what Ginn was doing, which put him on his heels.
“I think we maximize on the lessons we’ve learned, and on our strengths moving forward, and hopefully put up a better eight innings,” O’Hoppe said of the team’s approach Saturday.
Suzuki’s initial game plan was a lot simpler.
“Hope Neto gets a hit on the first pitch of the game and get it out of the way,” he joked.
Suzuki then added the actual thought process.
“I think the benefit for us is that we’ve seen him once,” Suzuki said. “It’s about making adjustments, and he’s obviously going to make adjustments to us too. I think it’s going to be a fun cat-and-mouse game.”
NOTES
It’s Jacob Wilson bobblehead night in West Sacramento, and Neto has already grabbed a couple for himself. The two are friends after coming up as mid-major shortstops in the AL West. Neto said the plan is to have Wilson sign one and then write a custom message on the other along the lines of, “To the best Fortnite player I know.”
Christian Moore was getting a day off after arriving at the ballpark two hours before first pitch, then landing in the starting lineup, on Thursday.
Grayson Rodriguez, who is dealing with lower back inflammation, was doing a “little touch” on flat ground in the bullpen, Suzuki said.
“He’s getting better every day, so that’s the positive thing,” Suzuki said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit to get back.”
Jorge Soler, who is out with a strained oblique, took batting practice for the third consecutive day.
“He’s getting pretty close,” Suzuki said. “Barring no setbacks or anything, should be really, really soon.”
A rehab assignment has not been discussed yet.
“Maybe he might take one. Maybe he doesn’t,” Suzuki said. “He’s been around for a long time. He kind of knows what he has to do. We’ll get it gauged when he’s game-ready.”
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