Los Angeles Angels outfielder Brandon Marsh might be turning the corner on a slump that coincided with the team’s 14-game losing streak.
Marsh will look to build off four runs and three RBIs over the past two games when the Angels conclude their three-game set against the New York Mets on Sunday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Marsh hit just .149 with a .337 OPS during the club’s losing streak and was not in the starting lineup when the Angels snapped the streak on Thursday. He was back in the lineup on Friday and recorded his first multi-homer performance of his career.
Marsh went 0-for-3 with two walks and two runs in Los Angeles’ 11-6 win over New York on Saturday.
While Marsh acknowledged the day off might have helped him reset physically, minor adjustments to his thought process and the mechanics in his swing are what helped him find his stroke.
“It was just me, in my head, just starting a little too late when I thought I was on time,” Marsh said. “The dudes up here are throwing it pretty quick. Just gotta get the foot down and let the body work, just try to be an athlete.”
Marsh made his major league debut last season, starting 67 games in center field in place of the injured Mike Trout. Marsh, now the club’s every-day left fielder, started the season well by batting .286 with 15 RBIs in 18 games in April. He homered on May 7, but then didn’t hit another until Friday.
“Really just simplifying things, not letting everything get too fast for me,” Marsh said of his adjustments. “Just being on time was the major thing. I feel like I trust my work prior to the game and I was just a little late, a couple frames behind, the past couple weeks. We got that figured out, and now we can have some fun hopefully.”
Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval (3-1, 2.81 ERA) will make his 10th start of the season on Sunday.
Sandoval is coming off a no-decision against the Philadelphia Phillies last Sunday. He allowed two runs on four hits while issuing a season high-tying four walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Sandoval has yet to face the Mets in his career.
New York right-hander Taijuan Walker (3-2, 3.28) will make his 10th start of the season on Sunday. He is 3-3 with a 5.70 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels.
Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo had struggled of late before a big night Friday when he homered and doubled in a 7-3 win over the Angels. He was hitting just .103 (3-for-29) with nine strikeouts in June prior to that performance, but his struggles were directly related to a sprained wrist sustained in late May.
But instead of going to the injured list, Nimmo decided to play through the pain.
“It’s difficult, but I felt like I had a bigger job as well, being the center fielder, and that’s a big job,” Nimmo said. “I need to be there. I need to help carry that load. From my standpoint I was even thinking, if I could just be available to not have someone just step in and take that over, because when we look at the yardage we cover every night, center field covers a lot of ground and that is the last thing we need, guys getting injured. I felt that at least I could fill that position while I was trying to get the hand back.”
–Field Level Media