Sanó earns roster spot, then homers; Ohtani gets ovation

ANAHEIM -- Well, that’s one way to celebrate good news.

On Tuesday, Angels manager Ron Washington confirmed that infielder Miguel Sanó had made the club’s Opening Day roster.

Washington’s confirmation came after an Instagram post from Sanó seemed to imply that he’d successfully earned a spot on his first Major League roster since 2022.

Facing Dodgers lefty James Paxton in the second inning of Tuesday night's 4-3 win in the Freeway Series finale at Angel Stadium, Sanó blasted a solo homer over the bullpen in left field, the ball soaring a Statcast projected 427 feet with an exit velocity of 109.7 mph.

Sanó, who has shed 58 pounds since he last played in the Majors in ’22 and hit three Cactus League homers as a non-roster invitee, earned favor with Washington on the strength of a standout spring.

“Well, he wanted a job and he swung the bat,” Washington said before the game. “He did everything that we asked him to do. He worked his butt off and he's very deserving of being on our roster, and that's why he's here.”

Sanó was an All-Star for Minnesota in 2017 and put up two 30-homer seasons with the Twins (34 in 2019 and 30 in ‘21), but only appeared in 20 games in ’22 and missed all of ’23 at the Major League level with a cartilage issue in his left knee and an injured tibia before signing with the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League for 27 games.

“First of all, thanks to God as the one that put me here and the Angels for the opportunity,” said Sanó through an interpreter.

“Thankful for these guys, especially [Mike] Trout. He's been helping me a lot. We're ready to win. It's all we're here for. Win, win, win.”

Should Sanó provide this same sort of consistent power off the bench in a utility/platoon role, it would go a long way toward complementing Trout, Brandon Drury, Logan O'Hoppe and the rest of the Angels’ right-handed hitters.

Angels honor Ohtani
Tuesday marked the first appearance at Angel Stadium for former Angel Shohei Ohtani since his offseason megadeal with the Dodgers, the two-way superstar suiting up this time in Dodger blue.

Shortly after Ohtani strode to the plate in the first inning to face Chase Silseth, the stadium’s video boards lit up with a tribute video honoring all of the record-breaking feats and accomplishments -- such as his 2018 AL Rookie of the Year Award and AL MVP Awards in 2021 and ’23 -- that the 29-year-old picked up over the first six years of his Major League career.

At one point, Ohtani stood back in the box ready to face Silseth, but stepped out again as the video continued to play, glancing up at the screens before tipping his helmet to the fans at the ballpark in recognition of the moment.

Silseth shoves
In his final spring tune-up, Silseth retired the first 11 Dodgers he faced, striking out 10 in five innings, his only hiccups being back-to-back homers surrendered to Freddie Freeman and Will Smith in the fourth.

“I'm happy,” Silseth said. “I put a lot in today, it felt like the real thing, which is good. I'm ready now [to] hit the ground running.”

Silseth, who maxed out at 97.1 mph with his four-seam fastball, admitted to being a bit revved-up to face the Dodgers, which he attributed to slightly airing his arm out a bit too quickly from the start -- but he powered through.

“That's the key, pounding the strike zone,” he said. “Even when I am losing velo, it still plays, attacking the zone.”

Among Silseth’s 10 strikeouts were two against his former rotation mate, Ohtani.

“That second time coming up, I was like, 'Oh, here we go, this is gonna be a battle,' which it was… . We gave each other a nod during the video [tribute], which was cool. Miss that guy.

“His first time coming back to Angel Stadium, the crowd, the tribute video, it was awesome to see. It was weird, but we're going to have to get used to it.”

“He left two balls up, but other than that I thought he did a tremendous job,” said Washington of Silseth’s night, noting the progress he’s seen in his pitching staff all spring.

“That's growth. When you start to grow and you start to believe, and that's happening to them,” Washington said. “It's a long haul, there's still gonna be some ups and downs, but they're getting there.”