NEW YORK — After a few weeks of sliding feet-first, Zach Neto surprised everyone when he slid head-first on a stolen base attempt on Monday night.
He even surprised himself.
“I had no idea I did it,” Neto said on Tuesday. “I woke up and I saw videos and said ‘Oh (shoot). I slid head first.’”
Neto hurt his right shoulder on a head-first slide last September. He ended up needing offseason surgery that cost him the first few weeks of this season. The Angels tried to get him to switch to feet-first slides during spring training, but he wasn’t comfortable doing that.
After Neto got hurt again on a head-first slide a month ago, he finally relented. Since then, he’s been going in with his feet, which he admits has been awkward.
When it was suggested to Neto that it looks like he is just as likely to get hurt going feet-first the way he does it, he agreed.
“No doubt,” he said. “I don’t know how I do it, but just trying to avoid the tag or trying to get to that back-side of the base. I don’t know what it is, but I need to do a better job.”
Neto said he’s still committed to trying feet-first slides, but he acknowledges that it might not be until he can commit more time to practicing it during spring training that he can master it.
He practiced a few times before returning to the lineup, but now his only practice with feet-first slides are “pretty much when I get in the game.”
“I want to get better at it,” Neto said. “I found a sliding technique right now that’s not very comfortable, but it’s pretty easy to pop up with. So I’m just going to keep doing it and hopefully getting better as as I keep trying it.”
MISSING STRICKLAND
The Angels’ bullpen had a 7.04 ERA before veteran Hunter Strickland joined the roster. With Strickland in the bullpen, the relievers combined for a 3.24 ERA over nearly two months.
Strickland has been out with a shoulder injury since July 7, and the bullpen ERA is 5.80 without him.
Interim manager Ray Montgomery said that’s not a coincidence.
“Hunter is obviously super experienced, a pro,” Montgomery said. “He brings an element of calm to those guys down there. We’ve got some young kids down there.”
Strickland, who could be back in mid-September, was particularly adept at working out of situations with runners on base. He inherited 21 runners and allowed only four of them to score. Since he’s been out, Angels relievers have combined to allow 11 of 20 inherited runners to score.
“When he came into the game, whether it’s cleaning up an inning or starting an inning fresh you kind of knew what you were going to get, with his service time and what he’s done in the game,” Montgomery said. “So when you lose that, I think there’s a little element of step back.”
NOTES
The Angels still had not decided on Wednesday’s pitching plan as of Tuesday afternoon. The most likely scenario seemed to be some kind of bullpen game, with left-hander Jake Eder or right-hander Carson Fulmer getting the bulk innings. …
The Angels announced that they officially signed all 21 of their selections from last week’s draft. Although it’s fairly rare for a team to sign every pick, the Angels also did it in 2023.
UP NEXT
Angels (TBD) at Mets (LHP Sean Manaea, 0-1, 2.45 ERA), Wednesday, 10:10 a.m. PT, FDSN West, 830 AM
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