WEST SACRAMENTO -- Angels rookie Denzer Guzman clearly likes hitting at Sutter Health Park.
Guzman crushed a three-run homer in Tuesday’s 9-7 loss in the series opener, and has now gone deep in four straight games at Sutter Health Park. Half of Guzman’s eight home runs this season have come in West Sacramento, and he’s hitting .278 (5-for-18) with 10 RBIs in five games there this year.
“I just see the ball better here,” Guzman said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “I really don’t know, but I see the ball well here.”
Guzman’s big day at the plate, however, was wasted by the bullpen struggling yet again, as the Angels couldn’t hold a six-run lead, with relievers José Fermin, Sam Bachman and Blake Weiman combining to allow seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Flamethrower Ben Joyce wasn’t available to close, which limited manager Kurt Suzuki’s options.
“Definitely tough,” Suzuki said. “The A's did a good job of putting runners on base, and we hit a couple guys, we walked a guy, and gave them some free runners. So it was definitely a tough night.”
But Guzman, 22, is looking to finish the season strong and has been better at the plate recently, including going 3-for-4 with a homer at Fenway Park on Sept. 9 and going 4-for-5 last Wednesday against the Mariners. He's slashed .267/.327/.422 with two homers, a double and nine RBIs over his last 12 games after taking some time off in early September to work with the club’s hitting coaches.
“I've been talking to them and they've been helping me a lot,” Guzman said. “They've been helping me a lot with the zone and with the mentality, the approach.”
Overall, it’s been a learning experience for Guzman this year, who has slashed .226/.272/.350 with nine doubles and 33 RBIs in 82 games. With the Angels eyeing the future, he’s received a long look at third base this season despite being a natural shortstop.
“It means a lot to me to finish strong,” Guzman said. “I want to come back next year stronger and ready.”
He helped the Angels get out to an early lead in Tuesday’s series opener with an RBI groundout in the first inning, after Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom both singled with one out off lefty Brady Basso.
In the third, Zach Neto led off with a single and Trout and Grissom followed with consecutive singles to bring home another run. It brought up Guzman, who crushed a 2-2 fastball from Basso for a three-run blast to left field to give the Angels a five-run lead.
“Guzzy’s at-bats have been great,” Suzuki said. “We've been talking about that for about a month now. The at-bats, the aggressiveness, everything like that has been awesome. So Guzzy’s definitely been swinging the bat really well. And I really like the way he’s been swinging the bat against lefties.”
The Angels received plenty of production from the top of their order, as Neto, Trout, Grissom and Guzman combined to go 8-for-16 with a homer, a double, six runs scored, six RBIs, two stolen bases, three walks and a hit-by-pitch.
They backed veteran lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who went 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk before the bullpen imploded. He cruised through five scoreless innings before finally running into trouble in the sixth and giving up two runs. But it was still an encouraging start for Kikuchi, who has a 3.98 ERA over 31 2/3 innings in six starts since returning from left shoulder inflammation.
Kikuchi, who has one year and $21 million left on his contract, is expected to get one more start in the regular-season finale in Seattle on Sunday, and wants to end on a high note after missing nearly four months with his shoulder ailment.
“Overall, I’m grateful that I've been throwing healthy so far to end this season,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Koki Goto. “I only have one game left, so I'm going to prepare for that game. I want to just end the season strong and gain something that will lead into the next season strong.”