Calhoun sits in opener to avoid tough lefty

OAKLAND -- Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun finally broke out on Thursday, going 2-for-4 vs. the Mariners while drawing a couple of walks and admittedly seeing the ball better than he has since returning from a sprained right ankle nine days ago.

And for that effort, he earned a spot right back on the bench.

The left-handed-hitting Calhoun sat against A's lefty Drew Pomeranz on Friday, and may sit again when another lefty -- Tommy Milone -- starts on Saturday. Calhoun historically has even splits -- .750 OPS versus lefties, .749 OPS versus righties -- but Angels manager Mike Scioscia continues to platoon with his outfield corners, going with right-handed hitters Grant Green (left field) and Collin Cowgill (right field) in the series opener.

Scioscia said recently that Calhoun is "too good a hitter" to platoon.

But not against a guy who has limited lefties to a .168/.245/.224 slash line in his career, at least.

"Today is really just a matchup day against Pomeranz," Scioscia said. "His splits are really tilted toward giving more of a right-handed look to our lineup. It might be different vs. Milone. Kole took a huge step forward yesterday. Just the fact of him seeing so many pitches and getting on base so much is why in the first place we considered him as a potential leadoff candidate. I think our best lineup is a look that will eventually have him up there, but at times, we're going to have to adjust off of it."