Scioscia shuffles batting order for Angels to find continuity

When Angels manager Mike Scioscia had his preferred position players healthy for the first 37 games of 2017, he hit the best of them in the same order.

Yunel Escobar led off, Kole Calhoun hit second, Mike Trout third and Albert Pujols fourth. There was only one two-game exception, in mid-April, a blip that featured the Angels finalizing a one-run defeat while Trout waited on deck.

With everyone in tow on Friday, Scioscia shifted, moving Trout and Pujols up one spot each, inserting Luis Valbuena fourth and pushing Calhoun to fifth.

“Trying to find some continuity, we’re just trying to bottle-shock some things,” Scioscia said. “I wouldn’t focus on Mike hitting second as much as trying to get a little deeper behind him at times, with him getting on base and guys who can hopefully take advantage of whatever he’s going to create.

“Obviously, with some guys not swinging the bats to their capability, there are some gaps you try to bridge.”

Among the players to whom he alluded: Calhoun (hitting .227 entering Friday), left fielder Cameron Maybin (.200), and second baseman Danny Espinosa (.138 and out of the lineup).

Scioscia stopped far short of committing to the configuration on a long-term basis.

“As we’ve taken some looks at some different lineups, this isn’t quite optimal, as far as balance, but right now that’s not our main concern,” he said. “When guys are swinging to their potential, we have some lineups that can be more productive with balance, that make more sense. But right now we’re not there, so those things are just theory right now.”

Scioscia said his first step was to see if packaging Escobar and Trout together would help his club “get a game on our terms.” When teams adjust to stack left-handed relievers against the left-handed-hitting Valbuena and Calhoun, he will adjust accordingly.

“This is a look that, obviously, we considered over the winter, and right now we’re gonna try it, to see if we can change the neighborhood of some guys and maybe get a little offense,” the manager said. “We just haven’t pressured teams the way we need to on the offensive end.”

Short hops

Right-hander Andrew Bailey will fly to New York City next week to visit Dr. David Altchek for a shoulder examination. On the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, the 32-year-old Bailey felt something amiss within his shoulder during a bullpen session. In 2013, Dr. Altchek performed a rare total shoulder reconstruction on Bailey. ...Right-hander Cam Bedrosian said he is still feeling groin soreness, which sent him to the DL last month, but noted improvement. Scioscia said the team planned to soon develop a timeline for the pitcher to resume throwing off a mound. … Asked about his decision to often start Cliff Pennington instead of Espinosa at second base of late, Scioscia noted that Pennington would not provide “anything Earth-shattering, but he’s getting on base.” Pennington entered Friday with an on-base percentage 133 points higher than Espinosa.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura