ANAHEIM — Even though Mike Trout isn’t going to return from the injured list as quickly as he hoped, he was nonetheless optimistic about the progress in his bruised left knee.
“It’s been great,” Trout said on Saturday. “I was worried in the beginning, but the sharpness I was feeling after that day in Seattle is gone.”
Trout felt pain in his knee on April 30 in Seattle. A couple days later, when the Angels placed him on the injured list, he said he thought it was possible that he could be back after the minimum 10 days, which would have been Sunday.
Trout, however, still has not done any running. He’s been riding a bike and he’s been hitting for three days, though.
Trout said he’s going with the team to San Diego for a three-game series starting Monday, and “there’s a good possibility” that he’ll start some running there.
“The biggest thing is just running,” Trout said. “I knew swinging wouldn’t bother me. It feels good. I don’t really feel anything. Just progressing to start running.”
Once Trout runs on the field — and not just on an anti-gravity treadmill — the countdown to his return can begin. For now, he said he doesn’t have a timeline.
“I don’t have a day,” he said. “But I feel great.”
Trout, 33, missed most of three of the previous four seasons with injuries. Each time, the injuries lingered much longer than the initial projection.
DETMERS’ DAY
One of the positives from the Angels’ 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night was left-hander Reid Detmers having a clean outing. Detmers faced three hitters, and he retired them all.
In his previous three outings, Detmers retired just one of the 13 batters that he faced.
When manager Ron Washington gave him the ball on Friday, he gave Detmers a quick pep talk.
“Trust your stuff and go out and have fun,” Detmers recalled on Saturday.
Detmers said that message “freed me up a little bit. The last couple outings, I’ve been pitching a little tight because I know I haven’t really felt the best. Just hearing him say that obviously means a lot. It just allows you to take a breath and go about your business.”
Detmers said the biggest difference in terms of his pitches was that he had better command of his curveball. He also had about 2 mph extra velocity on his fastball.
UNDER CONTROL
One of the key moments in Friday’s game was a missed call by plate umpire Adam Hamari on Nolan Schanuel. Schanuel should have walked on a 3-and-0 pitch, loading the bases in a 3-1 game. But it was called a strike, and Schanuel eventually hit a flyout.
Washington acknowledged — on Friday night and again on Saturday afternoon — that it was a bad call, but he stuck behind his decision to avoid an argument with the umpire. If a manager leaves the dugout to argue balls and strikes, it’s an automatic ejection.
“I didn’t come to the ballpark to get kicked out,” Washington said on Saturday. “Those umpires, they do a good job. I don’t think he did that on purpose. He had been calling a good game all night, and he made one bad call. Schanuel, I understand how Schanuel feels, but the at-bat isn’t over. That’s the mentality that mature players have, so he’s growing into that.”
Washington has not been ejected in his one-plus seasons with the Angels. He was ejected 15 times in eight seasons as the Texas Rangers manager.
“I yell at the umpire,” Washington said. “When it’s time for me to get thrown out, as I keep telling you guys, I will. But one time, I’m gonna run out there and get thrown out and I’m gonna point to y’all, since y’all seem to think I need to get thrown out.”
NOTES
Designated hitter Jorge Soler was not in the lineup for a second straight day because of groin tightness. Soler was still able to pinch-hit on Friday night, and he said he was available to hit on Saturday. Soler said he was feeling better on Saturday, and he hoped to be back in the lineup on Sunday. …
Right-hander Sam Bachman (thoracic outlet syndrome) had his schedule changed, and he was set for his second rehab outing on Saturday night with Class-A Inland Empire. …
Left-hander José Quijada was assigned to Double-A. The Angels designated Quijada for assignment after he performed poorly in the spring. He went unclaimed, and the Angels then kept him in Arizona until they felt he was improved sufficiently to return to competition.
UP NEXT
Orioles (TBD) at Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-0, 2.68), Sunday, 1:10 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM