LA Angels: Luis Rengifo can get the job done in right field

It had been a disappointing year for LA Angels utility player Luis Rengifo, to say the least.

Rengifo entered Tuesday’s game hitting .176/.200/.294 in his nine games of play for the Halos. It was a very small sample size, but still not a ton to like. That being said, Rengifo can be valuable to many teams in this league.

That’s because he can play second base, shortstop, third base, and Joe Maddon sent him to right field on Tuesday, batting him leadoff. Rengifo was ready for the challenge.

Luis Rengifo proved that he can be a solid depth option for the LA Angels bench.

Luis Rengifo hit the lone home run in the ballgame for the LA Angels in a game where San Francisco Giants star pitcher Kevin Gausman shined.

Gausman pitched seven innings, gave up just one run, and walked just one Angel. He struck out nine. The Angels struggled offensively in general, scoring just three runs in 13 innings.

It goes to show how impressive it was for Rengifo to come in and smoke a long ball for the Angels. Rengifo started for the injured Justin Upton, who’s dealing with some lower back soreness.

With the way Upton’s been swinging it, the Angels were asking a lot of Rengifo.

Going one for four doesn’t sound like a big accomplishment for someone who hasn’t had a good year, but when considering that he was selected to play a position he typically does not play, while being asked to bat leadoff, it puts it into a different perspective. Also, he drew a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the 10th. Don’t forget that Rengifo scored two of the Angels’ three runs.

It shows that Rengifo has what it takes to succeed in an adverse situation.

Somebody had to step up while the Angels had a short bench, and Rengifo got the job done. If Upton needs to miss more time, Maddon now has a guy who’s proven he can rise to the occasion.