Chiefs Hope WRs Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown Bring Back Big Plays
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
E2f2cba3dafe6ebebb8d605e0572f9cd 81cZEYTJ22L. AC SL1500 Oversized Premium Anti Fatigue Memory Foam Kitchen Floor Mat Country Scaled Prod?bucket=tanga Images&filename=689fea31e8d0 &width=700&height=700&quality=90C870x524 E9e8e2453e6d89b6b289bf6f86254f74 Prod?bucket=tanga Images&filename=c1b4b13bd210 &width=700&height=700&quality=9081H0cMupQZL. AC SX522 Untitled Design 2 15 C700x420 Memory Foam Chef Design Kitchen Floor Mat 5c06ab13 43c0 4b35 Beb3 987fbf72d6a4 600 5c9f59e5 Fe0c 4f18 A74d 5c24e7d555a6 1.b0964d8cc99d8e548b8149269ebe8677 C700x420 320310468959351ebf81f2d2700fff89 5cbaa136 16fe 41f0 A85d B43e8df2bf74 1.d43346d941a74f7bdba0bd19338ce3bd E0a2926efe8d2c9547b96aff1a782804 67fe7c9e8f06523d641ff1640c702d4d F80bbd7c E346 4c77 A913 2cb29507c8af 3.46662e3d1cc990b7f348208eb4408d21 46d1fb53c5fcd22b2dca38dd5be8a6a1 2f830fdd Ce12 47c1 8435 E7f7366c92c2 2.d7eb724d1e8601a6da3e10e2a5874b97 F874e05cd807d3d6f63343c949ee1a7f E75f58f1 A16b 42b4 82bd F115e49206a9.5a2a03e835436fd18787c7e46a68dc13 999999 8460060142102 ?odnBound=460C870x524 5b10ba4c 1320 4395 A626 D9bc84735dec 2.0611458aae7c468ad787791cea2d389e Screen Shot 2016 03 27 At 6.51.23 PM 51KwOMlpSNL. SL500 GelPro Falsexfalse True 70.webpMemory Foam Kitchen Mat D24d7c95 869d 4763 9f22 F42e390e18ef 1.c876f5229274254a2167c84119f63f03 51OdKcYb6BS. SL500
Chiefs Hope WRs Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown Bring Back Big Plays
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
