Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

LATIMES.COM/SPORTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019D5

On the eve of playing in
his first high school football
game since a knee injury
sidelined him for most of the
2018 season, running back
Damien Moore of La Puente
Bishop Amat said he was
too excited to fall asleep.
Months of preparation had
made him bigger, stronger,
faster. Now was his chance
to prove it.
Coach Steve Hagerty
promised that the first play
of the first game last week

would be a handoff to

Moore. Only one problem:

The snap against Pomona

Diamond Ranch went over

the head of the quarterback.

And then there was a

missed exchange on the

second play. Moore would

have to wait a little longer.

“I tried to keep my pos-

itive mind-set, keep every-

one calm,” Moore said.

Despite the shaky start,

Moore rushed for 206 yards

and scored two touchdowns

in a 17-0 victory, showing

once again that with the

right focus, determination

and guidance, players can

come back from injuries.

“I had a lot of support

from my family and my

coaches,” he said. “Athletes

learn to stay positive and

trust the process and listen

to what the trainers tell you

to do.”

Moore wasn’t the only

player coming back from

injury to make an impres-

sive return. Offensive tackle

Myles Murao of Santa Ana

Mater Dei played like an

All-American blocker in his

team’s win over Corona

Centennial. He suffered a

broken fibula in the middle

of last season and missed

the Monarchs’ playoff run.

Running back Amir

Bankhead of Lancaster

Paraclete missed all of last

season with a knee injury.

He returned with 57 yards

rushing and six receptions

for 24 yards in a loss to

Rocklin Whitney.

Running back Nathaniel

Jones of Bellflower St. John

Bosco wasn’t cleared to play

until last week and will

make his season debut on

Friday against Ramsey

(N.J.) Don Bosco Prep after

a knee injury in the first

game last season sent him

to the sideline.

“I’m ready,” he said.

High school athletes fear

a serious injury can make

college recruiters back off.

And it happens. Hagerty

said one school that had

offered Moore a scholarship

after his outstanding sopho-

more year decided it needed

to “reevaluate” him after his

posterior cruciate ligament

injury.

“He was kind of shaken,”

Hagerty said. “Basically,

they told him, ‘You don’t

have an offer anymore. We

need to see you play.’ He got

a reality check how the

world works.”

By last spring, though,

Moore was back making a

positive impression and a

new school stepped for-

ward, Cal, to offer him a

scholarship. And he ac-

cepted.

Ditto for Jones, who

committed to UCLA after

the Bruins kept recruiting

him even though he hasn’t

played in a game since his

injury.

“I’m coming back faster,

stronger, more prepared,”

Jones said.

Getting through the first

game and regaining

“playing shape” is the chal-

lenge when returning from

an injury.

“He’s got to get into game

shape,” Hagerty said of

Moore. “You can be in shape

but have to play games to be

in game shape.”

Moore is moving for-

ward. His time on the side-

line was not pleasant but he

has come back healthy and

motivated.

“I’m a firm believer

everything happens for a

reason,” he said.

Moore gets a running start on comeback from injury

BISHOP AMAT’S Da-

mien Moore gained 206

yards in season debut.

Shotgun SpratlingFor The Times

Bishop Amat back is

one of many stars

returning to field after

being hurt in 2018.

ERIC SONDHEIMER
ON HIGH SCHOOLS

Angels rookie Patrick
Sandoval was such an un-
known before the season,
and so far off the depth
chart, the Angels didn’t in-
vite him to major league
camp. He did not participa-
te in the team’s preseason
photo day. As a result, the
image that accompanied
Sandoval’s introduction at
Angel Stadium on Wednes-
day was a still photo of him in
a red spring training jersey.
It stood in stark contrast to
the images of others in the
starting lineup, all of whom
recorded short videos in
their home whites in late
February.
It also belied how far San-
doval, 22, has come since be-
ing denied a few innings of
work in split-squad games in
spring training. He made
four starts in double A be-
fore being promoted to triple

A in May. Fifteen starts after

that, Sandoval was called up

to the major leagues this

month.

Sandoval is no longer

much of a mystery to the An-

gels. He is a left-hander

brimming with potential. He

showed that by holding the

Texas Rangers to one hit

over five innings in the An-

gels’ 3-0 loss to their Ameri-

can League West rival, one

week after he was tagged for

four runs on eight hits in 3^1 ⁄ 3

innings by the same team.

“It felt great,” Sandoval

said. “It felt like I had every-

thing whenever I wanted it.”

Sandoval entered the

game with a gaudy 6.75 ERA,

but he had impressed man-

ager Brad Ausmus, who

knew little about his new

pitcher before his Aug. 5 de-

but, with his composure. He

allowed four runs in two of

his last four starts, but never

more than that.

In his fifth start, San-

doval turned in his best out-

ing yet. He walked three, but

stranded all of the runners.

The hardest-hit ball he al-

lowed was a double rifled

down the first-base line by

Willie Calhoun. When he de-

parted after the fifth inning

of a scoreless game, he had

thrown 52 of 84 pitches for

strikes.

Sandoval kept the Rang-

ers off-balance with a fast-

ball that reached a high of 96

mph and a nearly untouch-

able changeup.

A move to the center of

the rubber — he had pitched

from the third-base side of

the mound since he was a

teenage growing up in Mis-

sion Viejo — made the differ-

ence.

“We were just thinking it

would make pitching a little

bit easier to throw and a lit-

tle bit more deceptive,” San-

doval said.

The Angels did not re-

ward Sandoval’s strong out-

ing with offense, so his first

major league victory contin-

ues to elude him.

Kole Calhoun grounded

out with the bases loaded

and one out to end the

team’s best scoring threat in

the first inning. Brian Good-

win nearly hit a third-inning

home run off Rangers pri-

mary pitcher Ariel Jurado,

who allowed only two hits in

six scoreless innings, but De-

lino DeShields Jr. reached

over the center-field wall to

rob Goodwin of what would

have been his 14th homer.

While Jurado retired

eight of the final 11 batters he

faced, Miguel Del Pozo was

charged a run in the sixth

when Keynan Middleton al-

lowed an RBI single in his

first MLB game since under-

going Tommy John surgery

last year. Fellow reliever

Cam Bedrosian gave up a

two-run double in the eighth

to put the game out of reach

for the Angels, who had just

three hits.

Trout playing

through pain

A pesky bruise on the

bottom of Mike Trout’s right

foot prompted the Angels to

give their star center fielder

a night off Wednesday. Trout

had been dealing with the

minor injury “off and on for

the last few weeks,” Ausmus

said. The Angels hope two

straight days of rest will

help.

“It’s been the same for

about two or three weeks,

probably,” said Trout, who

could not pinpoint when the

injury occurred. “We were

looking at these off days any-

way and they just said we’ll

give you two days off. I said

all right. I’ll be good to go Fri-

day.”

Short hops

Infielder Tommy La

Stella, on the injured list be-

cause of a leg fracture sus-

tained July 2, could return to

the field as soon as the An-

gels begin their penultimate

homestand of the season

Sept. 9. In the last week, he

has moved from running on

an antigravity treadmill to

jogging unassisted. He has

been hitting in the cage and

taking groundballs. With the

minor league season ending

next week, it is likely La

Stella will play in simulated

games at Angel Stadium. ...

Angels prospect Jose Sori-

ano, Parker Joe Robinson,

Hector Yan and Chad Sykes

threw a combined no-hitter

in 10 innings for the low-A

Burlington Bees on Tuesday

night. Soriano is one of the

Angels’ most promising

young prospects. The right-

hander from the Dominican

Republic is 20 years old and

already wields a mid-90s

fastball. ... Top prospect Jo

Adell will have some com-

pany when the Arizona Fall

League commences next

month. Outfielder Brandon

Marsh, second baseman

Jahmai Jones, catcher

Franklin Torres and right-

handed pitchers Aaron Her-

nandez, Nathan Bates, Isaac

Mattson and Austin Warren

will join him on the Mesa So-

lar Sox.

Angels’ Sandoval has memorable outing

TEXAS 3, ANGELS 0

By Maria Torres

mates answered, capitaliz-

ing on Padres shortstop Luis

Urias’ throwing error with

two outs to score two runs off

All-Star closer Kirby Yates

en route to a 6-4 win and

dropping the magic number

to clinch their seventh

straight National League

West title to nine.

The Dodgers’ unlikely

rally began when Enrique

Hernandez worked a two-

out walk against Yates. Her-

nandez, knowing Mejia hurt

his side sliding into second

base for his double, immedi-

ately decided he would run

on Yates’ first move. It

worked and he stole second

base before Russell Martin

slammed a 104-mph one-

hopper to Urias.

The shortstop fielded

it smoothly, eliciting gasps

from the crowd, but his

throw sailed over the first

baseman and Hernandez

raced around to score

the go-ahead run. Two bat-

ters later, A.J. Pollock lined

an RBI single to supply

extra cushion for Casey

Sadler, who logged a score-

less inning for his first career

save.

Was it not for a perfectly

placed fly ball, Jansen prob-

ably would’ve notched the

save himself. Instead, he got

the win. The Padres didn’t

hit a ball particularly hard

off Jansen — Urias’ 89-mph

flyout to advance Mejia was

the hardest in play — but the

result remained dampening.

It was more disappointment

and another letdown for the

once-untouchable closer,

further highlighting a poten-

tial vulnerability for the Na-

tional League favorites

come October.

“He’s throwing the ball

well,” Dodgers manager

Dave Roberts said. “He

really is. It’s a play that [Tay-

lor] gave it everything he

had and if you make that

play then it’s a completely

different inning. So I still

think the ball is coming out

really well.”

A different kind of scare

surfaced for the Dodgers in

the fifth inning. The sound

resembled ball meeting lum-

ber, and that would’ve been

the optimal outcome for the

Dodgers. But left-hander

Matt Strahm’s 94-mph fast-

ball did not bounce off Max

Muncy’s bat. It plunked

Muncy on the right wrist.

Suddenly, a sense of dread

pervaded the visitors’ dug-

out.

Muncy grimaced on his

walk to first base. Roberts

and trainer Yosuke Naka-

jima joined him. After a brief

conversation, Muncy was re-

moved from the game and

the Dodgers were left won-

dering if one of their most

important players was

headed for an extended ab-

sence five weeks before the

games start mattering again

for them.

Two innings later, the

Dodgers announced Muncy

left the game with a “right

wrist contusion.” After the

game, Muncy said he under-

went a scan, which didn’t

show any structural dam-

age, but he won’t undergo X-

rays until Thursday. Even if

nothing is fractured, Muncy

said he expects “it’s still go-

ing to be a timetable to re-

turn.” It was the sixth time

Muncy was hit by a pitch this

season. Three have come

against the Padres, includ-

ing two in the previous three

days.

An All-Star for the first

time this season, Muncy is

second on the Dodgers in

home runs (33), runs batted

in (87), and on-base-plus-

slugging percentage (.900).

His 4.3 FanGraphs WAR en-

tering Wednesday was tied

for 21st in the majors. He is

an integral member of the

National League’s highest-

scoring offense and he kind

of hitter the Dodgers covet —

a slugger with elite plate dis-

cipline.

The Dodgers were lead-

ing 3-2 when Muncy exited.

The Padres elected to have

right-handed reliever Trey

Wingenter open the game

before using another pitcher

to log multiple innings. The

plan backfired. Wingenter

recorded a perfect first in-

ning, but found trouble in

the second. Cody Bellinger

walked and Taylor singled

before Corey Seager

grounded out to score Bell-

inger.

Hernandez walked to

prompt Wingenter’s depar-

ture. Right-hander Luis Per-

domo entered and walked

Russell Martin to bring up

Kenta Maeda, one of the Na-

tional League’s most pro-

ductive hitting pitchers this

season, with the bases

loaded. Maeda capitalized,

lining a two-run single to

right field to give the Dod-

gers the lead.

Dodgers score

twice in the 10th

[Dodgers,from D1]

SAN DIEGO — The out-
come was all but decided.
The Dodgers led the San Di-
ego Padres 9-0 in the ninth
inning Tuesday at Petco
Park. A position player had
already pitched an inning for
the Padres. The towel was
thrown. All Russell Martin
had to do was secure three
outs without combusting.
For most position play-
ers, getting those outs with-
out giving up a run would’ve
been a luxury. But Martin’s
expectations are different
than most of his peers. His
0.00 earned-run average was
at stake, and when Ty
France smacked his first
pitch for a leadoff double, it
was time to bear down.
Whatever that means.
“The goal is to just throw
strikes and then just com-
pete, really,” the 36-year-old
catcher said. “I mean, it’s not
like I have a huge arsenal of
pitches that I can use.”
Austin Allenpresented a
challenge but Martin struck
him out on the seventh pitch
of the at-bat — an 88-mph
fastball up and in out of the
strike zone that Allen
couldn’t catch up to.
Martin got Hunter Ren-
froeto ground out and Fran-
cisco Mejiato pop out on a
3-2 fastball to end the game.
With that, Martin became
the first position player —
excluding two-way players
— to pitch in a shutout win
since October 1917.
Martin threw 16 pitches,
10 for strikes. He’s thrown 45
pitches in four innings
across four appearances
this season. Three of those
outings have come with the
Dodgers leading. He’s given
up two hits, hasn’t walked a
batter, and struck out two.
Most importantly, he
hasn’t allowed a run.
Martin outlined a few fac-
tors he believes have con-
tributed to his success. First,
as a catcher, he has a deep
knowledge of opposing hit-
ters. He attends prep meet-

ings in his usual role. He

knows hitters’ tendencies.

He remembers their hot and

cold zones. He understands

which pitches they prefer.

Then there are the thou-

sands of throws he’s made

from behind the plate. When

trying to throw out a runner,

command is paramount. He

also has some experience,

even if it came a long time

ago.

“I pitched when I was a

kid,” Martin said. “So I think

all those things help.”

Martin figures he’s a

product of the era. Most hit-

ters nowadays have loft to

their swings. They want to

hit the ball in the air and are

hunting for low pitches.

Martin lives up in the strike

zone.

“Maybe if it was like eight

years ago, I might get abso-

lutely raked out there, but

everybody’s working on get-

ting that low ball now,” Mar-

tin said.

So how does a right-han-

ded pitcher who has topped

out at 90 mph get away with

pitching up in the zone?

“He’s pretty good,” Dod-

gers right-hander Walker

Buehlersaid. “He’s got some

spin rate. You guys should

check his numbers.”

The higher a fastball’s

spin rate spin, the more it

appears to rise and resist

gravity. That generates

more swings and misses. Ac-

cording to Statcast, Martin’s

average spin rate is 2,200

rpm, higher than average for

someone whose average

fastball velocity is 86.8 mph.

Martin relies primarily

on a four-seam fastball, but

he has also thrown a slider —

he noted he can drop down

against right-handers — and

a slower curveball. He said

he has a two-seam fastball

but hasn’t thrown it yet.

Same goes for his changeup,

but he plans on using it if he

gets another chance.

He said he’s occasionally

worked on pitching over the

course of the season, but

nothing more than messing

around. He doesn’t throw off

a mound or put time into

fine-tuning the craft. But he

said he thinks he could sit in

the mid 90s if he spent a pe-

riod of time perfecting his

mechanics. For now, he’ll

settle for a fastball in the up-

per 80s and a pristine ERA.

“I’ll just compete because

it’s who I am,” Martin said.

“And I have an ERA to pro-

tect. But that’s it.”

Short hops

Justin Turner said he

had not heard from Major

League Baseball about his

appeal after the league gave

him a one-game suspension

Tuesday... Manager Dave

Robertssaid infielder Gavin

Lux, the Dodgers’ top

prospect, is “in the conversa-

tion” to play for the Dodgers

this season when rosters ex-

pand. Roberts said Lux will

be with the team, either on

the roster or in an appren-

ticeship-type role.... Ross

Stripling(neck) threw three

simulated innings and is ex-

pected to come off the in-

jured list early next week....

Seven Dodgers minor leagu-

ers are slated to play in the

Arizona Fall League: right-

handed pitchers Mitchell

White, Marshall Kasowski,

Brett de Geus, and Gerardo

Carrillo, outfielder Jeren

Kendall, infielder Devin

Mannand infielder Omar

Estevez.

DODGERS REPORT

Martin

reveals

relief

secrets

By Jorge Castillo

DODGERScatcher/relief pitcher Russell Martin has yet to allow a run in four

relief appearances, including Tuesday’s outing when he pitched the ninth inning.

Sean M. HaffeyGetty Images