SAN DIEGO (AP) — Taylor Ward acted like it was his first day in the majors everywhere but in the batter’s box.Ward went with a pitch and hit an opposite-field RBI double in his first major league at-bat Kenny Lofton Jersey , and had two hits and reached safely three times as the Los Angeles Angels beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Tuesday night.“I’m not trying to hit the ball over there, but if they give it to me over there I’ll hit it there,” said Ward, who became the 13th player to debut in the majors for the Angels this year.“He had the normal butterflies that any youngster would have, when he came up, and looked really comfortable in the batter’s box,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He did a great job.”After the game, Ward reverted to the kid on his first night in the majors, clutching a baseball as he answered questions. When asked if it was the ball he connected with for his first hit, Ward said, “It sure is. I’m about to give it to my dad in about three minutes.”Justin Upton had three hits, including a home run for the second straight night http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-jim-thome-jersey , and drove in three runs for the Angels, who’ve taken two in a row from the Padres.“I had a lot of fun when I played here, and always enjoyed the ballpark,” said Upton, who spent 2015 in a Padres uniform. “It’s fun place to play. I’ve had some stretches where I’ve been seeing the ball well this year. I just feel like right now I’m getting a few more pitches to hit.”Like the 1-1 pitch from Brett Kennedy that Upton crushed 435 feet into the left-center field bleachers for his 26th homer of the season to make it 5-1 in the fifth inning.“He was locating his fastball really well, but he just made a mistake,” Upton said of Kennedy.Upton, who capped the Angels’ 10-inning win Monday night with a two-run homer, added an RBI single in the seventh.“The way he has been swinging it this week, he’s given us a big lift,” Scioscia said. “He’s htting the ball hard, getting good at-bats Manny Ramirez Jersey , driving in runs, doing things he’s capable of doing.”Freddy Galvis hit his third home run in three games for the Padres, a solo shot with one out in the fourth. It’s the first time in his career that Galvis has homered in three consecutive games.Eric Young Jr. tripled and had two RBIs for Los Angeles. Young’s triple came in the fourth when his liner to right-center field scooted past San Diego right fielder Travis Jankowski all the way to the wall, scoring Ward from first base.Jaime Barria (8-7) held the Padres to one run and six hits in five innings, striking out seven while walking one, for his third victory in four starts after losing six in a row.“He battled. He was missing up a lot and a lot of counts got away from him,” Scioscia said. “He pitched a good five innings, but he had to work hard to get there.”Kennedy (0-2) gave up five runs and nine hits over five innings in his second major league start. He lost his debut on Aug. 8 after becoming the first pitcher in the modern era (after 1900) to give up three consecutive home runs in the first inning of his debut.“He has to have better command up here,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “The consistency that they hit that middle fastball is a little different than at Triple-A.”CALLED UPWard, the 26th overall pick in the 2015 draft, was called up Monday night after posting a .349 average with 14 homers and 60 RBIs over 102 games split between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Salt Lake.“He didn’t get too many at-bats on the major league side in spring training, but looking at him on the minor league side you could see he had the potential to do what he’s doing this year Danny Salazar Jersey ,” Scioscia said.TESTED AGAINAfter recording eight assists and a putout in his debut at third base Monday night, Wil Myers made a fine play at the position in the second inning, barehanding a slow roller and throwing out Andrelton Simmons at first.PADRE POSITIVESManuel Margot’s single with one out in the second snapped a 0-for-16 slump. Travis Jankowski stole his 20th base of the season.TRAINER’S ROOMAngels: Shohei Ohtani came out of Monday night’s 33-pitch bullpen session in “good” shape, Scioscia said. Ohtani is expected to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, increasing the intensity and number of his pitches. … 1B Albert Pujols got the night off.Padres: C Austin Hedges got the night off after starting 11 of the previous 13 games.UP NEXTAngels: RHP Felix Pena (1-3, 4.95 ERA) makes his 10th start of the season for the Angels in the series finale. In his three road starts, Pena is 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA.Padres: LHP Robbie Erlin (2-3, 3.36) is set to face the Angels for the first time. Erlin has made four starts and 27 relief appearances this year. HOUSTON (AP) — Ask any Houston Astro and they’ll say the same thing: Alex Bregman was made for these moments.The young third baseman was great for the defending champions all season and now that the calendar has flipped to October he’s taken his play to another level, slugging two home runs to help Houston to a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series against the Cleveland Indians.“He loves the bright lights,” praised George Springer, MVP of the World Series last year. “He loves the big stage … he believes he should get a hit every time or make the big play or score the big run. That’s just who he is and when you have a guy like that it makes you want to do the same thing.”Game 3 is Monday in Cleveland.The 24-year-old Bregman had the best year of his career this season, leading the AL with a career-high 51 doubles http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-trevor-bauer-jersey , and setting career marks by hitting .286 with 31 homers and 103 RBIs. His breakout season helped carry the offense in a year where last year’s MVP Jose Altuve and star shortstop Carlos Correa struggled with injuries.“He brings joy to the team,” Altuve said. “He shows up here and lets everybody know he’s ready to play and … you see how he plays and you’re like: ‘OK. I want to join him, and I want to play at the same level he’s playing.'”Bregman gave Houston its first run of the playoffs this season when he hit a solo homer off Corey Kluber in the fourth inning of Game 1 on Friday. It was the first of four homers hit by the Astros in a 7-2 win. The Astros were up by 1 in Game 2 on Saturday when Bregman connected off Trevor Bauer with two outs and none on in the seventh to add some insurance in the 3-1 victory.“This is what it’s all about,” Bregman said. “This type of baseball is a blast. Everybody in that clubhouse is living and dying on every pitch. It’s fun to play these types of games.”Bregman, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, hit four homers and drove in 10 runs in his postseason debut last season to help the Astros to their first World Series title. He homered twice against the Dodgers in the World Series, and his two-out single in the 10th ended Houston’s thrilling 13-12 win in Game 5.Selected as an All-Star for the first time, he hit a tiebreaking home run in the 10th inning at Nationals Park in July that sent the AL to victory.Bregman never seems daunted by important moments despite having played just two full seasons in the majors.Manager AJ Hinch said Bregman has a “calm heartbeat” and he knows the Astros can always count on him when they need a big play whether it be on offense or defense.“I love how he describes pressure. He describes pressure as a privilege,” Hinch said. “That, to me, shows someone that gets it, someone that is going to be able to handle the moment.”Though Hinch and the Astros have come to expect this level of play from the former LSU standout Edwin Encarnacion Jersey , the manager sometimes takes a step back simply to appreciate his greatness.“It’s amazing to watch him do it time after time after time,” Hinch said. “We’re getting spoiled. Guys aren’t supposed to do it at this level at that rate he’s been doing.”Altuve, who became the first Astro to win MVP since Jeff Bagwell collected the National League award in 1994, has been wowed by Bregman’s development this season. In a stacked MVP race led by Boston’s Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez and Angels star Mike Trout, Altuve believes that his teammate’s season was the most impressive.“Bregman does something big for us every single game,” Altuve said. “He’s the kind of player that you really want to have on your team. He had an MVP season. He’s my MVP.”Bregman isn’t interested in discussing individual awards and accolades and says his only focus is helping the Astros repeat as champions. And as much as he’s done so far, he’s constantly working to do more and get better.“This was definitely, definitely something I envisioned doing, (but) I think there’s so much room to improve on both sides of the ball, and I look forward to working on it,” he said.