Angels slugger Albert Pujols finds gain despite pain

Angel slugger Albert Pujols is beginning to break out of his season-long slump, and Manager Mike Scioscia attributes some of that to Pujols learning how to deal with the painful plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

“There’s a lot of physical things he’s dealing with that he’s managing,” Scioscia said. “He feels he can go out and still swing, and he’s shown he can.”

Pujols started Saturday hitting a season-best .298 in June, with half of his hits going for extra bases.

That’s brought his season mark up to .256, the highest it’s been since April 29. He’s also third on the team with 11 homers and 40 runs batted in.

“As long as the medical staff can manage where he is and he can at least swing the bat, that’s an important thing that we need,” Scioscia said. “There’s no doubt that he made some adjustments from some of the physical things that he’s been dealing with.

“But I think that he’s comfortable where he is.”

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