ANAHEIM, Calif. — Ahead of the Angels' game on Friday night to kick off a six-game home stand, there were updates on four of the notable pitchers recovering from injuries.
Ben Joyce
Flame-throwing right-hander Ben Joyce made his first rehab assignment appearance with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and pitched a clean inning. He struck out one, walked one and allowed one hit, but didn't allow a run.
Joyce is recovering from a torn labrum from last May.
He said his shoulder feels great and is recovering well, and that he was able to pitch without holding anything back. The broadcast feed showed Joyce's fastball ranging from 97 to 101 mph.
"Heater felt great," Joyce said. "Slider was good. Just getting the feel back on the game now. It's a little different adrenaline or whatever you want to say, but I thought the stuff's been really good so far, and just keep building on it."
Joyce will pitch again on Saturday with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Alek Manoah
Right-hander Alek Manoah is recovering from a fingernail issue from spring training and is scheduled to start his rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday. He's been facing live hitters in Arizona for the past couple of weeks and he said he can throw up to 90 pitches now.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said the plan is for Manoah to pitch up to six innings in his rehab start on Saturday.
Manoah said the issue began when he dropped a weight on his finger in the weight room over the offseason, and the nail turned black as blood pooled in it.
"As the games started going, then the nail started opening from the bottom," Manoah said. "Then we put an acrylic on it, and then the acrylic fell, and then it was just all open. Then the actual nail fell off."
He said that his finger bothered him when he threw his secondary pitches, but now everything is feeling good.
Kirby Yates
Right-hander Kirby Yates is making his way back from left knee inflammation, and he feels better than what the box scores say about his rehab outings in Triple-A Salt Lake and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Yates gave up six earned runs on six hits in the two innings he pitched in Triple-A Salt Lake and tossed a scoreless inning in Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. Other than a home run, he said he's made some really good pitches.
"I think overall there's obviously some work to be done, but I don't think it's like we're in a crazy spot where I can't do it or can't go out there and get outs," Yates said.
The velocity readings were also down compared to what Yates normally throws, but he's not overly concerned about it.
"I keep going back to the leg strength," Yates said. "I've been working out all off-season to go into spring training, and I'm kind of restarting spring training without really being able to do anything for a month. We're trying to play catch-up, and we're trying to play catch-up quick."
Another issue that may contribute to the lower velocity is the fact that Yates lost weight throughout this injury. He said he was eight pounds lower than his normal playing weight, and is back to about his normal weight.
Grayson Rodriguez
Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez's slow return from dead arm in March has shifted to Arizona, where he is facing live hitters.
Suzuki said he pitched four "innings" with 63 pitches on Thursday and is feeling good overall.
"He was just tired after, which is understandable," Suzuki said. "But I think just the game in general, he was very excited with how he felt."
Suzuki also said Rodriguez's next outing will still be in Arizona and didn't say when his rehab assignment will begin.