‘Dude’s sick’: Simmons’ defense dazzles again

ANAHEIM — Andrelton Simmons had already made a handful of highlight-reel plays in the first two weeks of his first season with the Angels, ranging 115 feet to catch a foul popup in Oakland on April 12 and converting a slick backhand play on Adam Eaton’s grounder in Chicago on April 19.

But some of his new teammates began to wonder lately: “When is he going to pull out the sick one?”

“The sick one” constitutes ranging in the hole, making a backhand play and, in one motion, transferring the ball to his right hand, throwing off one foot and firing a bullet to first. It’s the play Derek Jeter popularized and one Simmons makes even better.

And, at last, it finally came, in the eighth inning of Saturday night’s 4-2 win that the Angels, at the time, led by only a single run.

Mariners speedster Norichika Aoki began the inning with a soft groundball to the left side. Simmons sprinted over and finally made the play his teammates were …

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