ANAHEIM -- Before this season, the Angels hadn’t had a bases-clearing walk-off win with the bases loaded since Torii Hunter hit a grand slam to beat Cleveland way back on April 7, 2008.
But Jo Adell accomplished the feat in the club’s wild win over the Giants on April 20, and Jorge Soler joined the club with a three-run double off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman to lift the Angels to a much-needed 5-4 win on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
It came after the Angels rallied for six runs in the eighth inning in the series opener on Tuesday and marked the second straight night they scored three runs off Hoffman, who has emerged as one of the game’s best closers. Hoffman entered the series with a 1.10 ERA in 16 1/3 innings and a perfect 6-for-6 in save chances but now has seen his ERA rise to 4.24.
“It feels great for the team to come from behind when losing in the ninth inning,” Soler said through interpreter Manny Del Campo. “The game was great, and we were facing one of the best closers in the big leagues.”
It was the Angels’ second walk-off victory of the year and Soler’s second career walk-off hit. (His first came in 2023.)
It was also the Angels’ third win in their past four games after a tough stretch and marked their first series victory since they took two out of three against the Giants from April 18-20. It was also their first time winning back-to-back games since they won three in a row from April 5-8.
“We never lost our confidence,” manager Ron Washington said. “There were some things that we had to correct coming out of the bullpen. And if we can continue to do that, I think we're going to be fine. Because for six innings, we have been in a lot of ballgames that we just lost in the seventh, eighth or ninth.
“Baseball is funny. I just think now with all that we've been through, we're starting to get blessed. As long as we come to the ballpark, prepare ourselves and be ready to play nine innings, that blessing will keep coming on us.”
Kyren Paris sparked the rally with a leadoff walk before Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel both singled to keep it going. Taylor Ward struck out, but Soler ripped a 1-1 slider into the left-field corner to clear the bases. Soler said he was hunting the fastball but was able to pull the slider just fair down the line.
“I was looking for a fastball,” Soler said. “He threw me three sliders but on the one where I took a swing, he left me one in the zone. And I was able to make contact on it.”
Washington said he believes it’s important that the rally against Hoffman came without the help of any home runs because it serves as a reminder that there are other ways to score. The Angels previously had scored only on solo homers from Yoán Moncada in the sixth and Paris in the seventh.
“He's a quality closer,” Washington said. “We got him one night. Usually when those guys come back the next night, they’re on a vengeance. But we were on a vengeance, too.
“We put some good at-bats up against him, especially the one that Kyren had to walk. And then Neto took two quick strikes and then battled and got a base hit up the middle. Schanuel just drove the ball up the middle and it dropped in our favor when Soler walked up there.”
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi allowed one run over six innings in his best start of the year. Fellow lefty Reid Detmers struggled in relief, allowing three runs without recording an out, but Ryan Zeferjahn, Connor Brogdon (in his Angels debut) and Brock Burke each threw a scoreless inning to keep the Angels in the game.
Kikuchi didn’t factor into the decision and is still looking for his first win with the club despite a 3.83 ERA in eight starts but is hopeful this win can get the Angels going.
“I think it's a huge win and on back-to-back nights,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “And with these two wins, I hope we can go on a little bit of a roll here.”