Josh Lowe went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Friday as the Angels beat the Reds 10-2 in Cincinnati. The homer, his second of the year, came off Cincinnati starter Chase Burns in the top of the sixth inning.
The game gave Lowe his second two-hit effort of the season and broke a 3-for-33 start that had left him searching for rhythm at the plate. After Friday, he was batting.132 with five hits in 38 at-bats through 13 contests, along with two home runs and four RBI.
Lowe has also been putting the ball in play better in April. He struck out 10 times in six March games, then whiffed six times in seven games in April, a sign his at-bats have started to look more like productive ones even if the overall line remains thin.
That matters because the season is still young, but Lowe’s numbers still carry the weight of a hitter who spent much of March missing pitches and now has to keep this version of his swing in place. Friday was a step forward, not a fix, and the Angels will need more nights like it if his line is going to climb much beyond where it sits now.