Notes: Fletcher returns; Mayer's IG cutter

The Angels activated second baseman David Fletcher from the injured list before Saturday’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field and optioned left-handed reliever José Quijada to make room for Fletcher on the roster.

Fletcher had been out since Aug. 30, when he sprained his left ankle while trying to beat out an infield single. But after testing the ankle on the field on Friday and Saturday, Fletcher was given clearance to return and was in his usual spot atop the lineup and at second base.

“It's always wonderful,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “We always prefer to play with David as opposed to without David. Injury-wise, I have been watching him the last couple times he's went out there and run. He'll be slightly guarded. It won't be 100 hundred percent, but it'll be pretty close to it.”

Fletcher, 26, has been a spark plug for the Angels this season, batting .313/.377/.438 with three homers, 13 RBIs and 24 runs in 35 games entering Saturday. Maddon said they’ll be cautious with Fletcher moving forward but that Monday’s off-day helps.

"We'll see how he shows up tomorrow,” Maddon said. “It's a day game, which makes it more difficult, but then we have a day off Monday. And as we get into next week, I'd like to believe that without any setbacks tweaking it in any way, he should be fine.”

Mayers attributes cutter to success
Reliever Mike Mayers has quietly been one of the Angels’ best pitchers this season, posting a 2.60 ERA with 27 strikeouts, four walks and one homer allowed in 17 1/3 innings. He credited his success to using a cutter for the first time in his career. It’s a pitch he picked up in an unusual way this offseason.

Mayers saw an Instagram post of a baseball that Mariano Rivera had marked for Roy Halladay to help him with his cutter grip. Mayers tried it out and saw the kind of movement he was looking for and ran with it.

“It seemed very simple,” Mayers said. “Kind of really fit my mindset, where I just kind of grabbed the ball and let it rip, and it had some cut to it. And so I just kind of tinkered with that, but basically that's how it started. It was on Instagram.”

Mayers, 28, entered 2020 with a 7.03 ERA in 80 2/3 innings with the Cardinals over parts of five seasons. But he's had much more success with the Angels and remains under team control through 2023.

“It's been awesome to see everything put together,” Mayers said. “In years past, I feel like I've been close. I know maybe the numbers hadn't said that. I think in ’18, maybe it was a little bit better, but I've been close. But I felt like I hadn't been able to fully put it together, and I just feel like this offseason I attacked things a little bit differently. Just getting my mind in the right place.”

Ohtani held out of lineup
Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who has scuffled offensively this year, wasn’t in the starting lineup on Saturday with lefty Kyle Freeland on the mound. Ohtani is batting .189/.287/.348 with five homers, six doubles and 20 RBIs in 36 games, and he’s hitting just .154 with no homers in 47 plate appearances against lefties.

"I'm just going off what I'm seeing right now,” Maddon said. “I really do believe it is mechanical with him a lot of times. I will always go to what the person may be thinking first, although maybe just some of his swing thoughts are putting him in a bad position to really strike the ball well.”

Maddon added that he doesn’t believe Ohtani’s right elbow/forearm injury is causing any discomfort at the plate, but the injury could’ve caused a hit to his confidence.

“He was pitching, and that was taken away from him,” Maddon said. “There's a lot going on with the young man right now. So this is a time when patience is absolutely required with a high-end talent like him. Because if you aren't, you can make bad decisions."