Angels' Taylor Ward: Retreats to bench versus righty
Rotowire
Ward is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.
Ward picked up starts in three of the Angels' last four games, but two came against left-handed pitchers and the other came Sunday, when Hunter Renfroe received a routine day of rest. With right-hander Michael Kopech on the bump for the White Sox, Ward will retreat to the bench while the lefty-hitting Mickey Moniak gets another turn in left field at his expense. According to J.P. Hoornstra of The Orange County Register, manager Phil Nevin said over the weekend that he plans to take a matchups-based approach toward his usage of Ward, who may be stuck in the short side of a platoon in left field while Moniak continues to make an impact atop the batting order.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: On bench to open Saturday
Rotowire
Ward is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Marlins, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ward will get a breather with right-hander Edward Cabrera on the bump for the Marlins on Saturday. Mickey Moniak will hit at the top of the lineup and play left field in Ward's absence.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Back in leadoff spot Wednesday
Rotowire
Ward is starting in left field and batting leadoff Wednesday versus the Red Sox, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Ward was out of the lineup for the previous three contests while the hot-hitting Mickey Moniak played left field, but he'll return to action for this one with the Red Sox starting left-handed James Paxton. He did have a pinch-hit double Tuesday, breaking Ward's 0-for-15 stretch at the dish.
Ward isn't in the Angels' lineup for Tuesday's game against Boston, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Tuesday marks the third consecutive game that the slumping Ward has begun in the dugout in favor of Mickey Moniak, who will bat leadoff Tuesday. Ward will likely get the nod in left Wednesday against lefty James Paxton and get a few more chances to break his cold streak.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: On bench again Monday
Rotowire
Ward is not in the lineup for Monday's game versus the Red Sox, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
He's been slumping lately and will sit out a second straight game as Mickey Moniak handles left field. Ward is hitless in his last 12 at-bats.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Sitting Sunday
Rotowire
Ward is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, Sarah Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ward has struggled over the past week and is currently in the middle of an 0-for-12 skid over his last four appearances. Mickey Moniak is playing left field and hitting in the leadoff spot against Pablo Lopez and the Twins on Sunday.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Sitting out Thursday
Rotowire
Ward is not in the Angels' lineup for Thursday's game versus the Orioles.
It's a day off for Ward with it being a day game after a night game. Mickey Moniak is in left field and also batting leadoff Thursday.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Ward will sit Saturday against the Guardians, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Ward has followed up his .833 OPS from his breakout season last year with a .663 OPS through 39 games this season. Mickey Moniak was called up Friday and will make his season debut Saturday, leading off and starting in left field.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Racks up three hits in win
Rotowire
Ward went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs against the Astros in a 6-4 win Monday.
Ward was a catalyst for the offense from the top of the order, as his base hits in the third and fifth frames each led to a score. The outfielder finished with his second three-hit game of the campaign, with his other such performance coming just four days earlier. Ward struggled through much of April but has bounced back in May, batting .407 (11-for-27) with a homer, five RBI and six runs through seven contests.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Beginning to heat up
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Ward went 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI in Thursday's 11-7 victory versus the Cardinals.
Ward led the charge near the bottom of the order, as each of the Angels' No. 6, 7 and 8 batters tallied three hits. Ward added a sacrifice fly to his productive day, and his ninth-inning double was his first in over two weeks. The outfielder went through a 1-for-14 stretch between April 26 and April 29, but he's since bounced back by going 6-for-12 with a homer, a walk and four RBI over his subsequent four contests.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Propels offense with three-run shot
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Cardinals.
The Angels tacked four runs on Steven Matz in the first inning led by Ward's three-run shot. It was his fourth long ball of the year and will perhaps bring him some confidence back at the plate after he's really struggled to get going, slashing .209/.318/.336. He has just six extra-base hits to go with 13 RBI, 19 runs and a 15:27 BB:K over 129 plate appearances.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Moves down from leadoff
Rotowire
Ward is starting in left field and batting seventh Saturday against the Brewers.
It's drastic move from manager Phil Nevin, as 97 of Ward's 102 at-bats have come atop the lineup this year. He will head to the bottom third of the order with righty Corbin Burnes on the hill for Milwaukee. The Angels will look to get Ward going with a less prominent spot in the lineup, as he has a disappointing .216/.325/.324 slash line with three home runs in 27 games.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Steps out of lineup Sunday
Rotowire
Ward is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at Milwaukee, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Ward was dropped from the leadoff spot to seventh in the batting order Saturday, and he'll head to the bench after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The 29-year-old has a .132/.254/.208 slash line across his past 15 games, so a day off certainly can't hurt. Luis Rengifo will cover left field in his place Sunday.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Knocks third homer
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two total runs in Sunday's 4-3 win over Kansas City.
Ward led off the Angels' half of the first inning with a walk and came around to score on a Shohei Ohtani sacrifice fly. Ward then went deep in the sixth frame to begin a series of Los Angeles back-to-back-to-back jacks. The long ball was the third of the campaign for Ward, with the other two coming in the season's first four contests. The outfielder had been slumping coming into Sunday, slashing just .114/.200/.143 with one extra-base hit over his previous 10 games.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Day off Saturday
Rotowire
Ward will sit Saturday against the Royals, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.
Ward finds himself on the bench for just the second time this season. He hasn't gotten off to a great start, hitting .228/.319/.329 through his first 20 games while adding a pair of homers and a steal. Luis Rengifo will start in left field Saturday.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Tallies two hits Tuesday
Rotowire
Ward went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Yankees.
Ward broke a three-game hitting slump by leading off with a double to right field. He would come around to score on a Shohei Ohtani home run and reached again on a base hit in the seventh. The 29-year-old got off to a racing start to the year, tallying 10 hits over his first five games, but Ward is hitting just .156/.283/.178 in 12 games since. Ward has still primarily hit leadoff despite the ongoing slump and Tuesday's outing could be a sign of better things to come.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Receives first day off
Rotowire
Ward is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Ward started the first 14 games of the season but will head to the bench Sunday while mired in a 4-for-24 slump. Luis Rengifo will move out to left field with Brandon Drury manning second base, while Zach Neto will take over leadoff duties.
