To say Kole Calhoun was struggling would be an understatement.

When the Los Angeles Angels‘ right fielder was placed on the disabled list June 2 with a strained right oblique [url=http://www.giantsfootballauthentic.com/will-hernandez-jersey-authentic]Youth Will Hernandez Jersey[/url] , he was in a 12-for-122 slump (.098), dropping his season average to .145.

“Every day is a new day,” Calhoun told the Orange County Register last week. “You’ve still got to go out and perform. I’m not thinking about it much honestly. I just want to go out and have a good game. Just going out and trying to help the team win.”

He did that Wednesday, going 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Angels snapped the host Seattle Mariners‘ eight-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory. The teams wrap up their three-game series Thursday night at Safeco Field.

Calhoun has hit two home runs in his past three games after hitting just three in his previous 62. Since returning from the DL on June 18, he’s batting .306 (15-for-49) with three doubles, four home runs, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored.

That’s helped Calhoun raise his batting average to .180.

He even returned to the leadoff spot in the batting order last week in Baltimore, a spot he held in previous seasons.

“Kole has made some adjustments and hopefully it will pay off,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told The Register.

Scioscia said one key for Calhoun is he’s been more selective at the plate as of late.

“He’s had a good eye in previous years,” Scioscia said. “It’s been a part of his game, but it’s been elusive this year.”

The Angels will send rookie right-hander Jaime Barria (5-4, 3.40 ERA) to the mound Thursday in place of left-hander Tyler Skaggs [url=http://www.seahawksfootballauthentics.com/will-dissly-jersey-authentic]Youth Will Dissly Jersey[/url] , who was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a right adductor strain. Barria suffered a 6-3 loss on June 12 at Seattle, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits in five innings.

The Mariners are scheduled to start left-hander Marco Gonzales (8-5, 3.77 ERA). Gonzales is 0-0 with a 4.66 ERA in four career starts against the Angels, including two earlier this season.

Gonzales is coming off his first career complete game in a 4-1 victory against Kansas City. Gonzales lost the shutout bid on Mike Moustakas’ two-strike, two-out single in the ninth inning.

“It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work this year and having the right guys behind me,” Gonzales said after his last start. “Those guys played incredible defense behind me and when your team gives you a lead in the first half of the game, you inch closer to eyeing the end. From the first inning I just had the mentality that this is my game and I’m going to go as deep as I can.”

Gonzales has been a big part of Seattle’s success this season after earning the No. 5 spot in the rotation this spring.

“He’s matured, there’s no question,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Gonzales. “It always works better when guys earn it. He has a lot of confidence right now because everything that’s happened this year, he’s earned. From coming into spring training, winning a spot in our rotation, he continues to build throughout the season.”

Ask Leighton Vander Esch about his improbable path from eight-man high school football to first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys [url=http://www.atlantabravesteamShop.com/authentic-brandon-mccarthy-jersey]Brandon McCarthy Jersey[/url] , and the rookie linebacker is quick with a retort of never being fazed by brighter lights or bigger cities.

Ask the former Boise State walk-on what he does to relax, and Vander Esch stares silently as his smile grows.

"Uh," he said Friday, the first day of rookie minicamp. "I don't even know."

Maybe that helps explain his rise to Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year and his showing at the combine and other workouts that stood out to new Dallas linebackers coach Ben Bloom. The Cowboys drafted Vander Esch 19th overall two weeks ago.

"It's kind of hard for me to relax, honestly," said Vander Esch, who signed an $11.8 million, four-year deal later Friday. "At this point, expectations are so high there's no time to relax. There's no days off. You've just got to keep trucking away."

Linebacker was one of the primary needs for Dallas going into the draft because of Sean Lee's history of injuries, Jaylon Smith's continuing recovery from a serious college knee injury and Anthony Hitchens' departure in free agency.

The Cowboys hadn't drafted a linebacker in the first round since Bobby Carpenter 12 years ago in almost the same spot (18th). Carpenter didn't get a second contract, leaving Dallas after four years in a career that ended after seven seasons. He never had more than 37 tackles.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is already talking rotation with Lee, Smith and Vander Esch for two spots. If Lee stays healthy [url=http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-connor-williams-jersey]http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-connor-williams-jersey[/url] , that's more likely to mean shared time between Vander Esch and Smith, a second-round pick in 2016.

Smith didn't play as a rookie while recovering from the devastating injury during his final game at Notre Dame and was inconsistent last season, particularly early in the year when he was playing more than expected after Hitchens injured a knee in the preseason.

"We're going to play the best guys," Bloom said. "Everybody linebacker in the room has the ability to play at least two positions. We'll get the best guys on the field and they'll be asked to have multiple positions."

Lee's best fit is weakside linebacker, but he's missed at least one game because of injury in seven of his eight seasons. The only exception was his All-Pro year in 2016.

Vander Esch considers himself a middle linebacker and flatly denied a report from before the draft that a neck injury sustained at Boise had prompted some NFL teams to downgrade him on draft boards. Regardless, the Cowboys weren't one of those teams.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones likes to compare Vander Esch to Rolando McClain, a first-round flameout in Oakland who had the best year of his career in 2014 in helping the Cowboys to just their second playoff win since their last Super Bowl title following the 1995 season.

Size would be a good place to start with that connection. McClain was 6-foot-4, same as Vander Esch, with an almost identical listed weight. The rookie is listed at 256.

"There's always pressure to perform," Vander Esch said. "Obviously this is the biggest level now so there's even more of it. You've just got to relax yourself and go out and do what you do."

After helping Salmon River High School in Riggins, Idaho, to a pair of state titles [url=http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-seth-jones-jersey]Adidas Seth Jones Jersey[/url] , Vander Esch walked on at Boise, about 150 miles south of his hometown. After a redshirt year, he progressed fast enough to bypass his senior season and enter the draft.

"You've got to be able to adapt quick no matter what," Vander Esch said. "You've got to able to take on anything and not worry about it, not stress yourself out, not get all flustered with it."

With his focus so much on football, Vander Esch didn't mind getting flustered over a question about what he does for fun.

NOTES: DT Maliek Collins is likely out until training camp after breaking a bone in his left foot Thursday during offseason workouts at the team's practice facility. He is expected to have his second surgery on that foot since January. The first procedure was for a stress reaction that bothered him last season, although he didn't miss any games. ... WR Terrance Williams, who broke a bone in his right foot in January, has been working on the side with trainers. Coach Jason Garrett said his recovery is on schedule, which likely means a return at training camp.

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