ANAHEIM – The Angels made every defensive play — including their eighth triple play in franchise history — on Tuesday. And in the bottom of the ninth inning, they collectively made the plays necessary at the plate for their sixth straight Freeway Series win over the Dodgers, 7-6 at Angel Stadium in walk-off fashion.
After forcing extra innings with a sac fly from Nolan Schanuel — who played a part in the triple play earlier in the game — it was Jo Adell whose high-chopper bounced over third baseman Max Muncy’s head and into the outfield, scoring Taylor Ward from third base to walk it off in the bottom of the 10th inning.
It was the third career walkoff for Adell, and the ninth of the season for the Halos.
“That was awesome,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “These guys never quit, but that was exceptionally not quitting. So many people contributed. … People coming off the bench, people doing different things.
“I think everybody can take a piece of that one tonight.”
More than the walk-off itself, it was Christian Moore bunting a single perfectly down the first-base line to move Taylor Ward over to third base in the 10th inning. It was Logan O’Hoppe drawing a walk in the bottom of the ninth to get two runners on with no outs and set the table for the top of the lineup. It was responding every time the Dodgers did something offensively. All the small details added up for the Halos on Tuesday.
They started the game fast offensively by putting up three runs on three hits and a walk in the bottom of the first, batting through their first seven hitters in their lineup. The Dodgers tied things up quickly, but Ward broke the tie with a two-out solo home run off Emmett Sheehan in the third.
Ward’s homer, his second RBI of the game, put him ahead of Aaron Judge for second in the AL (fifth in the Majors) with 89 RBIs.
For Adell, his mindset in the 10th shifted back to the approach he took at the plate when he got an RBI groundout:
“We don’t need a home run. We just need something that’s put in play forward,” he said. “And see what happens.”
The result on both at-bats was a success, crucial for the Angels’ fifth win over their rivals up the 5 freeway this season.
But more than any rivalry, Adell is hoping this can get the team going. With 42 games left to play, the Angels are six games back of the third AL Wild Card spot, with the Guardians, Rangers and Royals in front of them.
The Angels have shown they can beat good teams like the Dodgers, but Adell stressed they need to carry that same mentality with every team they face.
“At any point in time, any team can get hot,” he said. “… That’s our level of baseball. We can do that on the daily. I think going through a series like this reminds us that we’re in this. It’s not over.”
