Nick Adenhart

Nick Adenhart took the mound for his big-league debut at age 21 last May — and those were just his own expectations. Adenhart failed badly in a three-start big-league baptism. From all appearances, he has learned from that experience and takes the mound tonight against the Oakland A’s as an older and wiser pitcher. “His command is totally different,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said before tonight’s game. “His stuff is the same but he’s able to locate it and put pitches together which he wasn’t able to do last year.

“Last year was a struggle for him, getting back into counts and putting hitters away — all the things that pitching’s about.” As for the expectations, Scioscia said they are no different for Adenhart than they are for any other Angels starter. “What we want from Nick is the same thing we saw in spring training — no more, no less,” Scioscia said. “He has enough pitches to get deep into games and give us a chance to win, just the way we saw Joe (Saunders) pitch the other day.

Well, it was a reverse curse as Nick Adenhart, 7th on the team's starting pitcher depth chart, threw a 5 strikeout 6 inning gem, getting out of jam after frustrating jam with a knee buckling curveball and a well-masked changeup. After a scoreless 7th inning by middle reliever Jose Arredondo, manager Mike Scioscia broke with his usual game plan and left Arredondo in.