ANAHEIM -- Kole Calhoun's stint on the disabled list is proving fruitful, after all.
On Monday, Calhoun said that the right oblique strain that sidelined him from May 31 until Monday gave him an opportunity to tinker with his swing and regroup mentally -- he had been hitting .145/.195/.179 with one homer and a wRC+ of 3 before hitting the disabled list. On his first day at the plate, he went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
And in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the D-backs, he delivered again, sending a looping solo homer over the fence in right field to put the Angels up, 5-2, in the sixth inning.
"I think he's relaxed," manager Mike Scioscia said. "You're seeing his hands work well. He's definitely getting more in line with what you would expect Kole to do."
It was Calhoun's first home run and just his second extra-base hit since Opening Day, a span of 177 at-bats.
"Every day, [I'm getting] better and better," Calhoun said. "Today was good. Off-day tomorrow. Come out and do it again on Thursday."
Over 19 at-bats at Triple-A Salt Lake while on a rehabilitation assignment from June 13-17, he notched six base hits, including one double, triple and homer.
His first at-bat in the Minors was a homer to deep right-center field. Asked if that success carried over into this two-game series against the D-backs, Calhoun agreed.
"Yeah, I was working on some things," Calhoun said. "It's nice to see it carry over to right now. Biggest thing is going out and getting wins. Getting a win tonight, splitting the series with these guys -- nice to go into the off-day with that."