Los Angeles Angels leadoff man and right-fielder Taylor Ward had a night to remember on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Not only did the 28-year-old hit two home runs, he did it off of one of the best pitchers in all of baseball today, that being 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber.
A solo shot in the sixth inning and a two-run blast in the seventh accounted for all Angels runs on Monday night, as the Halos cruised to a 3-0 win.
Angels starter Michael Lorenzen had himself a solid night too, tossing six innings of shutout ball while only allowing three hits.
Lorenzen had some high praise for his teammate following the Angels’ victory.
Michael Lorenzen on Taylor Ward: "His at-bats are some of the best I've ever seen, to be honest. Even in Spring Training, his takes are just incredible. If I were to start hitting again, I'd probably try to hit like him because he's got it going and it's impressive."
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) April 26, 2022
Locked In
Lorenzen saying that he would model his approach after Ward’s if he ever started hitting again is really saying something.
But Ward did put together a solid performance.
Not many players can say they hit two home runs off of Bieber.
The only other two players who can say that are Yoan Moncada and Josh Donaldson.
That’s some pretty good company to be in, especially for a player like Ward, who isn’t exactly a household name.
And to have a teammate want to emulate you after such a night has to feel good for Ward.
Lorenzen really likes what he saw out of Ward and praised him for being so locked in and focused on the task at hand.
For Lorenzen to say he’d model his approach after Ward if he decided to be a hitter again has to be a nice confidence builder for Ward, as well as motivation to go out there and have another night like he had last night.
NEXT: Mike Trout's Surprise Triple Nearly Made MLB History