Dunking On Celebrities And Puking On Cooper Kupp's Lawn: Inside Puka Nacua's Offseason
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- — Mickey Moniak hit his first career grand slam, and Taylor Ward also homered in the Los Angeles Angels' 7-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
Jo Adell had an RBI double and Logan O’Hoppe added an RBI single for the Halos, who have won three of four after taking two straight from Oakland.
Moniak capped the Angels' five-run rally in the third when he cleared the bases with his fourth homer of the season. The 375-foot drive just barely got over the yellow line atop the right field fence.
“When you put the team ahead, it’s always a great feeling,” Moniak said. “I’m just trying to simplify things. Baseball is a weird game. It ebbs and flows. The goal is to stay as consistent as possible. Just trying to get back to that.”
The former No. 1 overall pick has struggled this season with a batting average usually under .200 despite getting regular playing time during his first full season with the Angels, but Moniak has improved sharply in recent weeks with improved plate discipline and what he called a new mindset focused on processes, not results.
“He’s been putting in a lot of work, and he’s trying to find that consistency,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “That big blow he gave us tonight was huge. He needed it, and we really needed it.”
Brent Rooker hit his 14th homer and JJ Bleday had an RBI single for the last-place A’s, who have lost four straight and 17 of 22. Oakland lost its 10th straight road game and dropped to a season-worst 24 games below .500.
Armando Alvarez got his first major league hit and his first RBI for the A’s, ending the 29-year-old’s epic quest for those achievements.
Alvarez doubled in the third, and he drove in a run in the eighth with a single. The former 17th-round pick played exactly 700 games in the minors over eight seasons since 2016, but he got his first major league callup last weekend after batting .311 with Triple-A Las Vegas.
Tyler Anderson (7-7) yielded three runs on five hits and five walks over five uncharacteristically shaky innings for the Angels during which he was visibly and verbally upset with himself. The left-hander has been Los Angeles' best starter this season, but Anderson has issued 23 walks in his last six starts.
“Just was all over the place, falling behind,” Anderson said. “The adjustments to make it better just made it worse, and I was just chasing it down the rabbit hole.”
Ben Joyce escaped a jam in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth for his 15th save — although the Angels closer lost his streak of 26 straight retired batters since May 21 on Tyler Soderstrom's two-out single.
Mitch Spence (4-4) yielded six runs on eight hits while pitching into the sixth inning of his fifth consecutive winless start for Oakland.
Moniak walked in the sixth and scored on a double by Adell, chasing Spence. Ward added his 14th homer in the seventh.
Alvarez's RBI single and Lawrence Butler's sacrifice fly on a sliding catch by Moniak trimmed the Angels' lead to 7-5.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling threw a bullpen session in Anaheim, and he's expected to throw another on Saturday. He has been out since May 25 with a right elbow strain.
Angels: INF Miguel Sanó returned to the roster after a 50-game absence with left knee inflammation and grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. ... RHP Chase Silseth also returned from a 76-game absence with right elbow inflammation. He was assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake.
UP NEXT
Joey Estes (2-2, 5.53 ERA) takes the mound for Oakland in the series finale Wednesday against Roansy Contreras (1-0, 3.90 ERA), who will make his first start since joining the Angels last month in a trade with Pittsburgh.
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Il Fullxfull.1744188684 Dbh4 0e07f7bc2408e294b70da0e326a37879 11d8ffb39054b6852ac2486d85526944 4be688ad80810fc2ceb5eab0cc341e8a Aee891640a05033126a065e5e77e42bb 9fcfa9cecb47cddb8d9896bf24d5b1e4 57d1e6825248d5bb596460966925d49c F1a0c24e149570a5cb928c7cbf5c572a Il Fullxfull.3129208335 5il7 Il Fullxfull.1281638781 Qz2c Il 1080xN.1641457062 Bioq B393af2c567e37ba511a69e4c33e44b6 05263e2aed4d981257c08c07a666b727 71f0DoPAbML Il Fullxfull.2453164116 Kcig Il Fullxfull.1896620063 Ckxs Il Fullxfull.1896613351 L5ll 4afd8f09e7c226ce7102065cb7f7a277 Il Fullxfull.1268088355 R2oe ?version=1Il Fullxfull.1434063044 Rc6c 9fabdd4e6dbe9e8bcc98ac3ee539175e 68cc2454eb28a82f2a228bb6fc420248 91941e38e2011628269343d1c8b59e76 061c7047cd60443cc904979a7772fbaa Il Fullxfull.2595903953 L8wi Il Fullxfull.4087121304 Q76f 33abaa3b3d917f00ddb2a2894e151238 B495d01fff3f563c88a44b6e39fa62bf Kitchen Wall Art Space Kitchen Il 1588xN.602506798 Sbxe 826d17ec74bf2660910dedf929526e11 41Kjrj1l4wL 81P6js0GIWL. AC SL1484 A4817f8de4bb10b5e6a86f97b01938ae Il Fullxfull.1365013376 B61i B1f2556bdf181919a6f1e1679ea9c3fb