NEW YORK — One of the bright spots of a forgettable weekend in Baltimore was that Luis Rengifo is finally showing signs of life.
After a miserable slump for the first two months of the season, Rengifo has now collected hits in five straight games, including homering from both sides of the plate on Saturday.
Rengifo’s OPS has climbed from .498 to .548 in the past five games. That’s still a long way from his .754 mark of the previous three years, but hitting coach Johnny Washington is encouraged.
“This guy’s been a good major league hitter, and our job is to try to find a way to get him back to becoming a good major league hitter,” Washington said.
Washington said he and the other hitting coaches have mostly focused on two parts of Rengifo’s game.
They are trying to adjust his swing path to get him hitting the ball in the air more. Rengifo’s average launch angle was 10 degrees from 2022-24. This season it’s 4 degrees.
The second point of emphasis has been his pitch selection, focusing on pitches he can drive, not simply pitches he can hit.
“He swings at a lot of balls off the plate, and he has a gift to put those balls in play and get rewarded,” Washington said. “Now we’re trying to shrink the zone and get him in a different spot to where he’s hammering the balls that he should hammer and laying off the pitches that he should take.”
Rengifo’s second homer on Saturday had an exit velocity of 108 mph, the hardest ball he’s hit all season.
Washington said Rengifo’s work ethic and willingness to change have both been good.
“He knows he can still play this game at a high level,” Washington said. “We believe it as well. I think the cool thing is he’s been open and receptive. The application piece is starting to come. He’s always been trying, and just hasn’t had the outcome.”
Rengifo, 28, needs to show signs of improvement quickly.
He is a free agent at the end of the season, so the value of his next contract will be heavily weighted by what he does this season. Also, if the Angels decide to be sellers at the July 31 trade deadline, they need Rengifo to be playing well for him to be a viable trade candidate.
HOMECOMING
Although Christian Moore grew up in nearby Brooklyn as a Yankees fan, the Angels’ rookie second baseman said he had never been to Yankee Stadium before.
“My Dad was a Mets fan,” Moore said. “Me and my brother, he never let us come over here.”
Despite his father’s influence, Moore said he grew up idolizing the Yankees’ Robinson Cano. He took some time to check out Monument Park on his first visit to Yankee Stadium on Monday.
For as much as this trip meant to him, Moore’s father might be more excited by next month’s return to New York, to play the Mets.
“My Dad might wear a full-on Mets jersey,” Moore said. “You might not see any red.”
Manager Ron Washington said Moore will play at least the first two games in Yankee Stadium, and then they’ll “see where it goes from there.” Moore, who made his major-league debut on Friday, started two of the three games in Baltimore, going 0 for 6 with a walk.
VOTING UPDATE
Mike Trout was third among American League outfielders in the first released results of the All-Star voting. The top six outfielders will move on to a second round, in which the three starters will be selected.
Trout is an 11-time All-Star, but he hasn’t actually played in an All-Star Game since 2019. There was no All-Star Game in 2020, and Trout was injured from 2021-2023. He was not even selected last year.
Shortstop Zach Neto, who is seemingly the most deserving of an All-Star spot among all the Angels, is in sixth place at a deep position. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe is in fourth.
Voting for the first phase ends on June 26.
NOTES
Third baseman Yoán Moncada (right knee inflammation) is still only swinging from the left side, Ron Washington said. “We’ll evaluate him when we get back,” Washington said. …
Right-hander Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve) has not begun throwing, but is making progress. “He’s coming along,” Washington said.
UP NEXT
Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 4-6, 5.20 ERA) at Yankees (RHP Will Warren, 4-3, 4.86 ERA), Tuesday, 4:05 p.m. PT, FDSN West, 830 AM