WEST SACRAMENTO -- After the Angels looked flat in their first two games against the Athletics coming off their three-game sweep over the Dodgers, Jo Adell helped jump-start the offense and made sure the club came away with a win in the series finale.
Adell launched a three-run homer in the first, smacked a ground-rule double in the fourth that set up a two-run single from Christian Moore and hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th to lift the Angels to an 11-5 win on Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park.
It was a wild game that saw the Angels blow both an early three-run lead and a two-run lead in the fifth, but Adell came through as the hero in the 10th, ensuring they wouldn’t get swept as he opened the floodgates for an eventual six-run outburst.
"I was struggling the first couple of days and wasn't getting the pitches I think I should get to, and I just was going to go out today and be aggressive,” Adell said. “I just was going to go out and attack.”
Adell's hit came after Mike Trout advanced to third on a passed ball and Taylor Ward walked. Adell worked a 3-2 count against reliever Michael Kelly and laced a sweeper into center field for the go-ahead single.
"I've been struggling with keeping the sweeper in the strike zone and swinging at that the past couple, two, three days,” Adell said. “So my idea was to try to see the ball as deep as I can. Kind of open up the big part of the field. Hitting the opposite-field double really kind of realigned me to stay more towards the middle of the field. I was able to stay with that pitch despite it being a hair outside and stayed through the middle.”
Logan O’Hoppe followed with a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, which proved to be key as Moore brought home an insurance run with a grounder to shortstop Darrell Hernaiz, who threw home to get Ward -- who slid safely under the tag of catcher Shea Langeliers.
Luis Rengifo blew it open with a two-run triple to center field and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bryce Teodosio. Zach Neto then demolished a solo blast to left to make it a six-run 10th inning.
"I think collectively as a group, when you do stuff like that, from big ball, small ball, the bunt, the homer or the triple, the big hits, the baserunning, literally a piece of everything, it's fun to watch,” said interim manager Ray Montgomery. “That’s what we preach from Day 1 of Spring Training, and we did it all in one inning.”
It helped make up for right-hander José Soriano struggling, as he couldn’t hold two different leads and gave up five runs on eight hits, including three homers, over 5 2/3 innings. It marked the first time in 46 career starts that he allowed three homers in a game.
"I'm not going to say I'm very happy about it, but we got the victory,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “It’s what we needed and it’s what I wanted.”
Closer Kenley Jansen also loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth but got out of the jam by getting Lawrence Butler to pop out to catcher Logan O’Hoppe. Adell said he believes it shifted the momentum and set them up for their big 10th-inning rally.
“I think the big turning point was Kenley getting out of that jam,” Adell said. “That was really big. He wasn't feeling himself when he came in but he was just able to kind of do what he does, which is go in and find a way to get the job done. And that was big for us. Once we got back out there, we were confident with where we were in the lineup.”
While the Angels (60-64, seven games back of the final AL Wild Card spot) were able to salvage a win against the A’s, things won't get any easier when they return home to Angel Stadium, as they host the Reds (65-60) and Cubs (70-53) for three games each beginning Monday night.
But Adell is hopeful they can build on the victory.
"You just have to flush the previous games and move forward,” Adell said. “To get to go back home with a win and just kind of bring that into [the series against] Cincinnati and see what we can do. But yeah, you can't let these fester long. I think we did a really good job turning the page today and just going back out there.”