Boesch back in Detroit after getting called up

DETROIT -- Angels outfielder Brennan Boesch was a big part of the Tigers from 2010-12, playing in a combined 380 games while posting a .259/.315/.414 slash line. Then came the spring of 2013, when Boesch dealt with an oblique strain, couldn't win a starting outfield job and was released with less than three weeks left before Opening Day.

"I don't really reflect too much on it, other than Detroit was pushing for a championship, like everyone else, and I think injuries played a big role," Boesch said, this time from inside the visiting clubhouse at Comerica Park.

"The Tigers have always had a ton of talent, and if you can't stay on the field, there was guys that were plenty good enough to play, and it just kind of happened that way. No regrets. I wish I could've been more healthy coming into that year, potentially, but I'm just happy with where I'm at physically now."

Boesch, called up on Wednesday when Kole Calhoun's sprained right ankle landed him on the disabled list, was out of the lineup for the Angels' first game in Detroit. But the left-handed-hitting right fielder, basically in a platoon with the right-handed-hitting Collin Cowgill, figures to start on Saturday and Sunday, with righties Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello on the mound.

The 29-year-old Boesch was signed by the Yankees two days after the Tigers parted ways with him, but he was released on July 19 and basically spent the rest of the season rehabbing a shoulder injury. Boesch agreed to a Minor League contract with the Angels in late January, then batted .250/.308/.479 in 13 games for Triple-A Salt Lake, while striking out 20 times, before getting called back up to the big leagues.

"I feel good," Boesch said. "I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself because I feel good. It's one of those things where I've kind of let go and I'm comfortable in my own skin and who I am as a ballplayer. That's a good place to be at. It takes a little while to get to this point, where you feel relaxed, and I definitely feel relaxed."

Boesch went 0-for-1 as a late-game substitution in the Angels' 11-6 victory.