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    Angels’ Kurt Suzuki noncommittal on Jordan Romano at closer
    • April 16, 2026

    NEW YORK — The next time the Angels have a save situation, fans will be anxiously waiting to see which reliever comes into the game.

    Manager Kurt Suzuki gave few hints Thursday, when he was asked about the role in the wake of Jordan Romano’s second blown save in a row.

    “Obviously with Jordan the last couple days, tough outings, but there’s no panic,” Suzuki said. “He’s been so good for us to start the year and he had two rough outings. You look at it and you say you could be reactionary or you could just keep going. We started the year with Jordan as our closer and we’ll see how it goes. Right now, he’s still going to be in those high-leverage spots, and you know, if the opportunity comes for him to close, we’ll see what we got.”

    Romano, 32, did not allow a run in his first six games, converting all four of his save opportunities.

    He did get spared a blown save by Jo Adell robbing his third homer of the game April 4.

    Romano’s blown save on Monday night came after he hadn’t pitched in six days. And the blown save on Wednesday night came after shortstop Zach Neto and third baseman Oswald Peraza miscommunicated on a routine pop fly, allowing it to drop instead of recording the second out of the inning.

    If the Angels do opt for someone else as the closer, right-hander Chase Silseth has probably put himself in the best position for the opportunity. Silseth has a 2.84 ERA in his first nine games. He also has closed in the minors.

    Right-hander Kirby Yates, who was most likely to start the season as closer when spring training began, is still rehabbing a left knee injury. He’s been throwing bullpen sessions and he faced hitters once. He still hasn’t pitched in a minor-league game.

    “He’s still building up,” Suzuki said Thursday. “He’s still day to day. He’s feeling good. We’re hoping sometime soon he gets out there in a game.”

    Right-hander Ben Joyce, who has the stuff to be a long-term answer at closer, is building back slowly from shoulder surgery. He just faced hitters for the first time in his rehab Tuesday. The next step would be a minor-league rehab assignment.

    ADELL’S GLOVE TO COOPERSTOWN

    Adell formally handed the glove from his historic game to the Baseball Hall of Fame before Thursday’s game.

    Adell said his initial plan was to keep using it until the end of the season and then donate it, but “I had a feeling like ‘what if someone snatched it out my locker or something?’”

    Adell said his backup glove is the one he used in 2024, so he planned to start using that one.

    Jon Shestakofsky, the Hall of Fame’s vice president, presented Adell with a certificate and said he and his family will have a lifetime pass to come to the Hall in Cooperstown, N.Y.

    “The Baseball Hall of Fame is home to tens of thousands of artifacts that tell the game’s most important history, including the incredible moments on the field, and nobody has ever seen a game by an outfielder like Jo Adell’s game on April 4,” Shestakofsky said.

    Shestakofsky said the glove would likely be put on display soon, either in the “today’s game” display case or in the room that has one “locker” representing each team’s recent history.

    It was the latest in a whirlwind couple weeks for Adell. He has done numerous interviews, and this week he did a commercial shoot for Major League Baseball. He’s also planning to have a ballpark meeting with Kayleigh Kraus, the fan who took the iconic photo.

    “You don’t realize the type of impact it has,” Adell said. “Over the past week, everything that’s been coming my way has been a tribute to that. It’s pretty special.”

    O’HOPPE’S MOMENT

    On Wednesday night, Logan O’Hoppe hit his first career homer at the ballpark he came to so often when he was growing up on Long Island.

    “It didn’t hit me until later in the game,” O’Hoppe said Thursday. “It was really like you picture. I remember being in this stadium when I was kid, picturing doing that a lot. I feel like the past three years, I wasn’t chasing that, and I wasn’t swinging for the fences, but you want it to happen. So I felt some relief. It was really nice.”

    The clip of a teenage O’Hoppe tossing back a homer when he was sitting in the left-field stands has been replayed often, so it was fitting that a Yankees fan tossed back his homer, allowing him to keep the souvenir.

    O’Hoppe was off Thursday for just the fourth time in the Angels’ first 20 games. He is hitting .218 with a .624 OPS. His on-base percentage is .333.

    “I don’t think the numbers show how good I’ve been feeling,” O’Hoppe said. “I’m walking more. My takes are much better. I’m feeling really good. Worked on some swing stuff with (hitting coach Brady Anderson) the night before last, and still going to continue to do that. It’s feeling great.”

    NOTES

    Right-hander José Soriano flew home earlier than the rest of the team to be prepared for Friday’s start. …

    Mike Trout became the first player to have four homers and eight RBIs as a visitor in a series at the current version of Yankee Stadium, which has been open since 2009.

    UP NEXT

    Padres (TBD) at Angels (RHP José Soriano, 0.33), 6:38 p.m. Friday, FanDuel Sports Network, 830 AM

    ​ Orange County Register 

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