Moncada, O'Hoppe lead Halos to fifth straight win

WEST SACRAMENTO -- It was the kind of inning the Angels had struggled to put together through most of April and early May.

But the offense has been surging recently and the Angels used a four-run fifth inning, keyed by a 12-pitch at-bat from Luis Rengifo, a three-run blast from Yoán Moncada and a go-ahead RBI single from Logan O'Hoppe, to win their fifth straight game with a 7-5 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday. It’s the first time the club has won five consecutive games since they won six in a row from June 24-29, 2024. They’ve also gone 9-5 over their last 14 games, averaging 5.4 runs per contest over that stretch.

“It shows us that that little hole we went into however many weeks ago is a perfect example of what we were practicing, which is not panicking,” O’Hoppe said. “Things are going to change, and they have right now. But that doesn't mean that everything's set in stone, and it's going to be perfect all the time, either. So we're going to enjoy this and ride this wave as long as we can.”

The Angels came into the inning down by three runs after right-hander Kyle Hendricks allowed three runs in the fourth on a solo homer from Shea Langeliers and a two-run shot from Nick Kurtz. But they again showed their resiliency and didn’t waste any time taking the lead the very next inning.

Rengifo proved to be the catalyst, opening the fifth with a single to right field on the 12th pitch of his at-bat, which was the longest of his career. It appeared to affect right-hander Gunnar Hogland, who promptly walked Kyren Paris on four pitches to put two runners on with nobody out.

“The at-bat from Rengifo was a great at-bat,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It put a lot of pressure on Hog.”

Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel, however, couldn’t get a run in, leaving it up to Moncada with two outs. But he jumped all over a 2-0 fastball at the top of the zone, obliterating it a projected 439 feet to right field and into the trees beyond the berm at Sutter Health Park. He said he let out his frustrations from his previous at-bat, when he struck out on a pitch-clock violation after home plate umpire Andy Fletcher didn’t see him call for a timeout.

“I was pissed, super pissed after that at-bat,” Moncada said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “But when I hit that ball, I felt like I had my soul back.”

It chased Hoglund from the game but the Angels weren’t done. Taylor Ward stayed red-hot with a double to left, giving him an extra-base hit in his sixth straight game to set a career high. O’Hoppe, who connected on a solo blast in the fourth, came through with an RBI single to left to score Ward to give the Angels a lead.

O’Hoppe credited Moncada for getting the Angels back in the game and noted that they’ve played better as a team since Moncada returned from the injured list on May 6.

“He hit that ball, what, 800 feet?” O’Hoppe said. “So that definitely helped. He's such a good hitter, and it's pretty fun to watch on a day-to-day basis, how pro he keeps his work and really how he approaches the day. So he impacts more guys than he probably knows.”

Manager Ron Washington also said it’s no surprise that the offense has started to take off once Moncada rejoined the lineup.

“He stretches it out, gives you a good at-bat, makes the pitcher work,” Washington said. “The benefit goes to the next guy. And that's what the lineup is about, trying to benefit the next guy, and that's what he brings.”

The Angels tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth, keyed by an RBI double from Zach Neto and the bullpen again came through. Relievers Reid Detmers, Hunter Strickland, Brock Burke and closer Kenley Jansen combined to allow one run over 3 1/3 innings with Jansen improving to 10-for-10 in save chances on the year. He’s finished four of the club’s last five games but the 37-year-old showed why he leads all active players with 457 career saves.

“That's Kenley Jensen,” Washington said. “That's why he has almost 460 saves, because he's a saves guy. When it’s time for him to come into the ballgame, it doesn't matter how he feels, he knows how to get outs, and that's exactly what you saw tonight.”