Ward's laser HR ends slump, jolts Angels to victory

ST. LOUIS -- If the Angels’ offense is to reach its full potential this season, left fielder Taylor Ward has to get it going and look more like the player he was to start and end the 2022 season.

Ward opened this year on a hot streak but cooled down over the last three weeks, including entering Tuesday’s series opener against the Cardinals in an 0-for-9 skid. But he showed a sign of getting out of that slump by smacking a three-run homer in the first inning to lift the Angels to a 5-1 win at Busch Stadium.

It was an encouraging result for Ward, who hadn’t homered since April 22. But he joked that he was asked about getting out of a funk after his last homer and it didn’t quite work out that way.

“It feels good, but I think you guys asked me this after my last one, so I want to get out of this routine,” he said. “But it felt good and it was good to put the team up early. Just looking to keep it going.”

He absolutely crushed a 2-2 changeup from lefty Steven Matz, as it had an exit velocity of 111.4 mph and went a projected 379 feet to left field. It was Ward's hardest hit ball this season and the second-hardest hit homer of his career, trailing only a 112.6 mph exit velocity on a homer off Minnesota’s Louie Varland on Sept. 23, 2022.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said it was a credit to Ward for all the hard work he’s been putting in with hitting coaches Marcus Thames and Phil Plantier.

“Nice to see him put a good swing on one,” Nevin said. “He’s been searching for that. He’s been working with Marcus and Phil on some posture things. He got a good swing on a pitch to hit and he hit it out.”

Ward started off the season strong, slashing .311/.404/.467 through his first 11 games before getting in a funk offensively, going .131/.260/.197 over his next 18 games. After producing a combined 0-for-8 against the Brewers on Friday and Saturday, he wasn’t in the lineup on Sunday, but did walk in his lone plate appearance.

Being out of the starting lineup gave Ward a chance to clear his head and it helped him in his first at-bat. Ward continues to be a patient hitter and isn’t one to chase, so now it’s more about making hard contact, as he’s seen his average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage take a dip this season.

Ward, who is slashing .209/.318/.336 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games this year, said he believes it’s because of a flaw in mechanics that he’s worked to address and that things are starting to feel better at the plate.

“I’m really just trying to slow things down,” Ward said. “I feel like I was rushing things with my load and things like that. I’m just looking to get back to how I was early on. I think getting back to that got me in a good spot tonight. And I’m just trying to build off that.”

Angels general manager Perry Minasian was asked before the game if there was any level of concern with Ward’s play. He said he believed Ward was just going through a dry spell. Ward went through hot and cold streaks last season, when he slashed 281/.360/.473 with 23 homers, 22 doubles and 65 RBIs in 135 games. But they were mostly related to his health last year, as he was bothered by a right shoulder injury suffered in late May that didn’t fully heal until later in the season.

“Guys go through ups and downs,” Minasian said. “And we all saw what Taylor did last year, what he did at the beginning of this year. He's playing outstanding defense. He's been nails defensively, so he's helping us win games in different ways.”

Ward’s three-run homer capped a four-run opening frame that supported lefty Patrick Sandoval, who gave up one run on three hits over five-plus innings to get the win. Sandoval, who improved to 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in six starts this year and didn’t give up his first hit until there was one out in the fifth inning, credited the offense for giving him an early cushion to work with.

“It was awesome,” Sandoval said. “The boys came out swinging. That’s all you can ask for as a starter. Get an early lead and try to preserve it for as long as possible.”