Bourjos hitting ball hard, but frustrated with results

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Peter Bourjos struck out to end the seventh on Thursday and, in a rare display of emotion by the mild-mannered center fielder, spiked his bat on the Tropicana Field turf and watched it roll all the way to the Angels' dugout.

"Obviously I wasn't happy and I threw the bat down, but I think it was more the turf that took over and ejected the bat about 65 feet towards the dugout," Bourjos said after a 2-0 win over the Rays. "I had no intentions of it going over there."

The result may not have been intentional, but Bourjos' frustrations persist.

Since coming back from missing six weeks with a fractured right wrist, the 26-year-old has managed just three hits in 36 at-bats, striking out 12 times, walking once and watching several of his line drives land snuggly into the gloves of opposing defenders. In that span, his batting average has dropped from .333 to .279.

"I think it's just more about timing and getting into a rhythm at the plate," Bourjos said. "I feel like I've hit some balls hard right at people, taking some better swings and having better at-bats and seeing the ball. The results just aren't there yet."