It was an honest mistake by Jo Adell on the bases, but it was one that Angels manager Ron Washington wasn’t going to let slide.
During the Angels’ 4-2 loss to the Rays Wednesday, Adell successfully stole second base in the bottom of the eighth with Los Angeles down two runs.
But the problem was he went a few steps farther than the bag because he did not slide and was tagged out to end the inning.
The blunder squelched the Angels’ attempt at a comeback, and after the game, Washington was visibly unhappy about that play.
“It’s obvious he overran the bag. We down 4-2 right there in the eighth inning, if you’re going to decide to get that bag you gotta get the bag,” Washington said. “I don’t care what kind of jump you got, you got to get that bag simply because of the situation of the game. It is a teaching moment. Hopefully, that will never happen again, because when you actually look at it it was embarrassing to all of us.
“I know Joe didn’t mean that in that manner, but we down 4-2 and it was a teaching moment.”
The error in judgment put a small damper on what should have been a good day for the Angel in the outfield.
Adell had hit his first home run of the season off Rays pitcher Kevin Kelly in the sixth inning, sending the ball over the wall in right field.
There is a bit of competition for playing time, and Adell didn’t help his cause with the blunder.
Despite the gaffe, Adell has been hitting well, going 4-for-15 while recording three steals, three RBIs and four runs scored, which show signs of growth for the 25-year-old.
His OPS jumped to .894 as well, but after Wednesday, Washington let him know baserunning errors like that aren’t acceptable.
