Efren Navarro/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Angels

Efren Navarro isn’t playing much these days. But the outfielder/first baseman out of Lynwood High made his presence felt in a big way in the ninth inning of the Angels’ 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night at Angel Stadium.

Having been on the bench all game, Navarro was inserted at first base as a defensive replacement for C.J. Cron, who has been starting there in place of Albert Pujols; Pujols has a sore right foot and has been relegated to designated hitter duty.

The first batter in the inning was Jed Lowrie, who faced off against closer Huston Street. Lowrie hit a rocket of a ground ball to Navarro, who deftly made the grab and took it to the bag for the first out.

It was a huge play because if that leadoff guy gets on, the complexity of the inning changes dramatically. Navarro gave credit to coaches Alfredo Griffin, Dino Ebel and Gary DiSarcina for keeping the players ready.

“Just the preparation we’ve been doing before BP (batting practice),” Navarro said. “We’ve been really focusing on defense. It’s a lot of work, but it’s work that we need. Thanks to Griffin and Dino and DiSar helping us prepare for when our number is called, so it’s not really being cold.

“In the fifth or sixth inning, we still get loose, we still ride the bike. That’s normally when we get ready and that’s what helps us.”