Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to San Diego.
That's now four homers in the month of May so far for Ward, with all four of those long balls coming in his last nine outings. The veteran outfielder has only nine hits in his last 10 games, but six of them have gone for extra bases to help give him 12 RBI during this span. The Angels have begun to regularly use Ward in the middle part of their lineup as opposed to the leadoff spot, which should continue to hurt his run-scoring upside but increase his RBI potential.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Plays hero Monday
Rotowire
Ward went 2-for-5 with a grand slam in Monday's 9-5 win over the Padres.
Ward capped a six-run rally in the ninth inning, taking Alek Jacob deep after Robert Suarez struggled in a save opportunity for the Padres. This was Ward's third homer in his last seven games, and he's driven in at least one run in six of those contests, following a stretch in which he went 1-for-27 with a 2:13 BB:K and no RBI. That slump has left a mark on Ward's overall numbers, as evidenced in his .190/.232/.405 slash line over 164 plate appearances. He's added nine homers, 21 RBI, 18 runs scored, six doubles and no stolen bases through 39 games. While Ward isn't hitting all that well, he continues to see steady playing time between left field and designated hitter, as none of the Angels' other outfielders are doing much better than he is.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Hits eighth homer Thursday
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Thursday in a loss to Toronto.
Ward helped the Angels get off to a promising start with a two-run shot in the first inning, but he didn't reach base in any of his remaining four plate appearances. The veteran outfielder has collected long balls in bunches this season -- he has two in his past three contests and slugged five homers in a five-game span in mid-April. Overall, though, he's mostly struggled, slashing .181/.224/.391 with a 27.9 percent strikeout rate through 147 plate appearances.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Smacks homer in win
Rotowire
Ward went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Ward was stuck in an 0-for-24 drought from April 25 to May 3 before knocking a double in Sunday's game versus the Tigers. He looked more lively Tuesday, earning his first multi-hit effort since April 12 versus the Astros. The 31-year-old outfielder is up to seven homers, 12 RBI, 15 runs scored, five doubles and a .188/.234/.391 slash line over 33 games this season. Despite his recent poor hitting, he has maintained a starting role in left field, as the Angels have few players who are making consistent contact lately.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: First day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Ward is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Seattle.
Ward will get his first day off of the season after going hitless across his past four games. Gustavo Campero will play left field and bat seventh as the Angels try to avoid their fifth straight loss.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Belts sixth homer vs. Pirates
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's loss to Pittsburgh.
Ward continued to supply power for the Angels on Tuesday, belting his sixth big fly already this year in the third inning to get Los Angeles on the board. While the 31-year-old outfielder is batting just .220 with only five walks over his first 91 at-bats of the campaign, he's now up to 10 extra-base hits, nine RBI and 12 runs scored across 22 outings. Ward won't have much RBI upside out of the leadoff spot, but he should be a decent source of runs while Mike Trout is healthy.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Extends power surge
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Astros on Sunday.
Ward led off the game with a solo shot to left field, though he struck out in three of his remaining four at-bats. The veteran outfielder has gone deep in four of his past five games, slugging five long balls during that stretch. The power surge has boosted Ward's OPS from a paltry .437 to a much more viable .759.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Remains hot Saturday
Rotowire
Ward went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 4-1 win against Houston.
Ward went deep to right field in the fifth inning for the Angels' final run of the contest. The outfielder has slugged four long balls in his past four games after beginning the campaign with no homers over his first 10 contests. During the power surge, Ward is batting .353 with five RBI.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Belts first homer of 2025
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-4 with one walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Rays.
Ward managed to hit his first home run of the 2025 campaign when he took Ryan Pepiot deep for a 349-foot long ball to right field to reduce the Angels' deficit to two runs. Ward has started the season slashing .196/.240/.283 with three walks, four runs, one home run and three RBI across 50 plate appearances.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Hits first spring homer
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday in an exhibition loss to the Dodgers.
Ward accounted for the Angels' only run of the game with his 399-foot solo shot to center field in the third inning. The veteran outfielder has gone deep just one time this spring, but he's hit well with a .275/.370/.425 slash line over 46 plate appearances. Ward batted leadoff Sunday, and it appears he'll open the campaign in that position in the batting order after primarily hitting third last season.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Starting Thursday
Rotowire
Ward (knee) will serve as the designated hitter and bat leadoff in Thursday's Cactus League game versus the Mariners.
Knee soreness has prevented Ward from playing since Monday, though the 31-year-old said it's something he would have been playing through if it were the regular season. He now seems to be back to 100 percent and will look to continue what has been a solid start to spring training.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Expected back soon
Rotowire
Ward is unconcerned about the knee soreness that kept him out of Monday's Cactus League game against the Rockies and said Tuesday that he expects to be back in game action soon, Jack Janes of TheSportingTribune.com reports.
Ward added that he would have played Monday had it been a regular-season contest. He is out of the lineup again Tuesday versus the Guardians, but his return to game action appears imminent.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Day-to-day with knee soreness
Rotowire
Ward is dealing with some knee soreness and is considered day-to-day, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The injury helps explain why he hasn't played in a Cactus League game since Friday. Given the day-to-day designation, Ward should be fine, barring any setbacks. He's projected as the Angels' everyday left fielder and likely leadoff hitter this season.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Will be among top three in lineup
Rotowire
Angels manager Ron Washington said Friday that he envisions Ward, Mike Trout (knee) and Jorge Soler being his first three hitters in the lineup in some order, Sam Blum of The Athleticreports.
Ward was the team's leadoff hitter for most of the final two months of last season, so he would seem likely to occupy that spot again, although Soler also batted leadoff some last year with the Giants and Atlanta. Washington did add a caveat that one of Ward, Trout or Soler could bat cleanup, so he hasn't written anything down in ink yet. Zach Neto (shoulder) is expected to begin the season on the injured list but will bat fifth or sixth upon his return, per Washington.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Clubs 25th homer
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to Houston.
Ward accounted for the Angels' only run with his 416-foot solo shot to lead off the game. The long ball was his 25th of the campaign -- the first time he has reached that mark as a big leaguer. Ward's leadoff homer Thursday was his fifth in his past 19 games. According to Angels Senior Communications Manager Matt Birch, the outfielder is the first player to have at least five leadoff home runs in a season for the team since Mike Trout in 2012.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Hits career-best 24th homer
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 6-4 loss to the Astros.
A late surge has seen Ward slug seven homers over his last 15 games to give himself a career-best 24 long balls this season. He's hit safely in 10 of 13 games in September, going 15-for-46 (.326) in that span. The outfielder is up to a .246/.321/.437 slash line with 68 RBI, 70 runs scored, four stolen bases and 26 doubles over 143 contests this season, and he's regularly hit leadoff over the last month.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Matches career high in homers
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Twins.
Ward led off the game with a homer, his sixth in his last 12 games. In that span, he's gone 16-for-46 (.348) with eight RBI and 12 runs scored. The outfielder has matched his career high in homers (23) from the 2022 season, though his .758 OPS this year is a far cry from the .833 mark he posted in that campaign. Ward has added 67 RBI, 67 runs scored, four stolen bases, 26 doubles and two triples over 140 contests in 2024.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Homers again Saturday
Rotowire
Ward went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Rangers.
Ward led off the game with a homer against Jack Leiter to give the Angels an early lead. The long ball was his fifth over his past eight games, a span in which he's batting .313 (10-for-32) with seven extra-base hits, six RBI and eight runs. Ward is up to 22 home runs on the season, one shy of the career-high mark he set in 2022.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Stays red hot
Rotowire
Ward went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional RBI, an additional run scored and a walk in Wednesday's 10-1 win over the Dodgers.
Ward was the only Angel with multiple hits in the blowout win. He also homered for a third straight game, including both contests in this series versus the Dodgers. The outfielder's recent power surge has him up to 21 homers, 64 RBI and a .244/.315/.429 slash line over 133 contests. He's two homers shy of matching his career high from 2022 and continues to thrive in the leadoff role.
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Angels' Taylor Ward: Productive in win
Rotowire
Ward went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and a second run scored in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Mariners.
Ward homered while leading off the bottom of the first inning for the second time in three games. He was also on base in the fifth when Anthony Rendon hit a two-run double that ended up being the difference in the contest. This was Ward's second multi-hit effort during his 12-game hitting streak, a span in which he's gone 14-for-47 (.298). The outfielder is up to 19 homers, 61 RBI, 58 runs scored, four stolen bases, 25 doubles and a .240/.311/.415 slash line through 131 contests overall.
