Shoemaker: Focus, execution aid turnaround

ANAHEIM — The fastball is up near the mid-90s, the splitter is a legitimate out pitch again, and the aggression is at an all-time high.

This is the Matt Shoemaker the Angels have been longing for.

When that Shoemaker last appeared, it was August 2014, the apex of an uplifting season in which he finished second in American League Rookie of the Year Award voting. Shoemaker since experienced an up-and-down 2015 season and struggled mightily through his first six starts of 2016, his ERA at 9.12 and his foothold on a Major League job losing traction.

In the three starts that have followed, Shoemaker has given up four runs in 22 2/3 innings and, in the words of Angels manager Mike Scioscia, “has been as good as any pitcher in baseball.”

Shoemaker pitched seven innings of two-run ball in a 3-0 Angels loss to the Tigers on Wednesday, five days after giving up two runs in 8 1/3 innings against the Astros and 11 days after twirling 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Orioles. Since his last walk — in the second inning of a May 16 start at Dodger Stadium — Shoemaker has recorded 33 strikeouts, breaking a franchise record …

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