But then he went out and picked up five hits in his first seven at-bats, one of the few bright spots in a surprisingly sluggish start for the Angels' offense. Suddenly, it seemed like a good idea to start him in the first three games of the season.
"He was on the bases a lot yesterday, but he came out and felt great, so we'll keep it going," manager Mike Scioscia said.
Against left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, Scioscia also re-inserted Mark Trumbo at third base. Trumbo, a converted first baseman, made two errors on Opening Day and four during spring training.
One other interesting nugget, courtesy of ESPN Stats and Info: Albert Pujols has a .667 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers since 2009, best in the majors.
Here are the rest of the lineups:
Kansas City
Alex Gordon LF
Alcides Escobar SS
Eric Hosmer 1B
Billy Butler DH
Jeff Francoeur RF
Mike Moustakas 3B
Lorenzo Cain CF
Humberto Quintero C
Chris Getz 2B
Angels
Erick Aybar SS
Howie Kendrick 2B
Albert Pujols 1B
Torii Hunter RF
Vernon Wells LF
Morales DH
Trumbo 3B
Chris Iannetta C
Peter Bourjos CF
