Angels bats show some life in 7-6 exhibition loss to Arizona

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Juan Rivera hit his first home run of the spring, a two-run shot that he lined over the left-field wall in the fifth inning, and Howie Kendrick (run-scoring double, RBI single) and Maicer Izturis (triple, RBI single) each had two hits in the Angels’ 7-6 exhibition loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday in Tempe Diablo Stadium.7-6.

The Angels hit .245 as a team in their first 13 games but had 10 hits Wednesday, including three in a first inning that featured Izturis’ leadoff triple to right-center, Kendrick’s RBI double to right-center and Kendry Morales’ RBI single to right.

The Angels built a 6-1 lead through five innings, but three relievers combined to give up six runs over the final four innings. John Hester’s ninth-inning sacrifice fly gave the Diamondbacks a 7-6 lead.

‘We’re starting to see some better swings,’ Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. ‘It’s still early, but we’re really going to bear down the last 10 days of camp, get our lineup out there and see some continuity.’

Angels starter Joe Saunders allowed one run and five hits, walked two and struck out none in four innings, a marked improvement from his first spring start, when the left-hander was tagged for four runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox last Friday.

‘That last inning we saw the life on his ball and his command was there,’ Scioscia said. ‘The first couple innings, his ball-strike ratio wasn’t good, but he found something in that fourth inning and really looked sharp.’

Matt Palmer, who will probably be the Angels’ first choice to plug a rotation hole should one of their starters get hurt, replaced Saunders and gave up four runs and seven hits, walked two and struck out three in 2 2/3 innings.

--Mike DiGiovanna in Tempe, Ariz.