Angels’ Jo Adell showing improved plate discipline this season

Adell drew two walks on Saturday night, only the second time in his career he had drawn multiple walks in a game. He also hit a homer and threw out a runner at the plate.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jo Adell hit his eighth homer — equaling his career high — and he threw out a runner at the plate on Saturday night.

But amid all that, the Angels outfielder was just as proud of another recent improvement in his game. He drew two walks.

It was only the second time in Adell’s career that he walked twice in a game, and the first time he’d done it in a game with another hit.

“Honestly, the homer is great, but that was a really important part of my game yesterday,” Adell said on Sunday. “We talked about making good decisions. That’s what it’s about. So I’m pretty happy with being able to come in and take control of the zone later in the game, especially in a tight game like that where it’s easy to kind of get antsy and want to do too much. I didn’t get a pitch to hit, so we passed it to the next guy.”

Adell walked in the ninth and 12th innings. Unfortunately for the Angels, they weren’t able to take advantage of his walks. He just ended up being one of the runners left on base as the Angels went 0 for 18 with runners in scoring position.

Adell has drawn nine walks in 123 plate appearances this season, which is only two shy of the career high he set in 285 plate appearances in 2022. Adell’s walk rate of 7.3% is up from the 4.9% rate he brought into the season.

“That’s growth,” manager Ron Washington said. “He’s beginning to take what they give him and not try to force things. Early in his major league career, he was trying to be impressive. Now, the only person he’s trying to impress is Adell. Once you get to that point, you’re making strides.”

Adell is hitting .250 with an .847 OPS this season.

The throw that Adell made was also an example of his defensive improvement. Adell is now exactly at the major league average in terms of Outs Above Average, according to Statcast. He had been significantly below average earlier in his career.

“I gotta give a lot of credit to (outfield coach) Bo Porter for getting me out there and getting a routine together to really make this come together,” Adell said. “It’s all about the rhythm and practice. I’ve practiced in game like situations and it’s been able to show up, so I’m excited about it.”

WHAT ABOUT MONIAK?

Outfielder Mickey Moniak, by contrast, has not taken the strides that Adell has, despite having something of a breakthrough season last year.

Moniak came into Sunday’s game hitting .186 with a .499 OPS.

When Washington was asked what Moniak needs to improve, he had a simple answer.

“Stop trying to go deep,” Washington said. “If you watch his BP everything is short and crisp. Then when you get into the game, his emotions take over. Just got to start controlling his emotions, start taking what the pitcher is giving him, and I think things will start working out. But for that to happen, it has to be Moniak that does it.”

On Sunday, Washington could have benched Moniak in favor of veteran Kevin Pillar, who was hitting .432 in his first 11 games with the Angels.

Washington said he wanted to give Moniak the opportunity to get himself going with two consecutive games, after he had played just once in the previous four games.

The Angels are also trying to be careful with Pillar, who is 35 years old. He had played four games in a row before Saturday.

“When Pillar came here, he came here as a guy that was gonna fill in here and there,” Washington said. “He’s hot. I’m not taking that from him. But I’ve got kids that need to play too.”

Pillar is expected to play at least twice in Houston, including Monday against left-hander Framber Valdez.

NOTES

Luis Garcia’s average fastball velocity had not been above 97 mph in any of his first 18 games, but in his last two games it’s been 97.9 mph and 98.2 mph. He threw his three hardest pitches of the season on Saturday, each cracking 99 mph. Garcia has been tweaking his mechanics to focus on going straight toward the plate, instead of across his body, and this allowed his velocity to increase. Garcia gave up the game-tying run on Saturday, though. He threw a splitter to Nathaniel Lowe, who hit a sacrifice fly. …

Left-hander Matt Moore’s fastball velocity was a season-low 91.8 mph when he gave up two runs on Friday. Even though Moore threw only 21 pitches in that game, he was notably absent from the Angels’ 13-inning game on Saturday night. Moore said on Sunday he feels healthy, but the Angels may nonetheless be taking a cautious approach with the way they use the 34-year-old. …

The one-run loss on Saturday added another chapter to the frustration of a team that Washington often says is still “learning how to win.” The Angels are 5-16 in games decided by one or two runs. “We know there’s a lot of work to be done,” Washington said. “Everything they go through as this year progresses will be a learning experience.” …

Willie Calhoun got the start at first base on Sunday, his first career big league start at the position. Calhoun had played first in Triple-A this season. Washington said earlier this month that Calhoun, who is 5-foot-8, was too short to play first, but he gave him a shot on Sunday because he wanted to give Nolan Schanuel the day off and didn’t have a better option. “I told him yesterday I’m gonna throw him a bone, and he better eat that bone,” Washington said. “Because if he messes around and doesn’t eat that bone, that’s going to be the last bone he gets.” …

Left-hander Amir Garrett elected free agency. The Angels designated Garrett for assignment earlier this week. He cleared waivers and then declined to remain in the minors with the Angels, exercising his right to become a free agent. The Angels are still trying to bring him back on a minor league deal.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-4, 5.19) vs. Astros (LHP Framber Valdez, 3-1, 2.95) at Minute Maid Park, 5:10 p.m. PT Monday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.