Moniak, Adell end August strong with multihomer games

ANAHEIM -- After both going through extended slumps that lasted several months, Angels outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell picked it up offensively in August and capped it by both going deep twice against the Mariners on Saturday.

Moniak was the hero, as he connected on a game-tying two-run blast in the seventh inning and a walk-off solo shot in the ninth inning to carry the Angels to a 5-4 win at Angel Stadium. It was the first career walk-off hit for Moniak, who was the club’s best offensive performer in August and finished the month strongly.

“It was huge,” Moniak said. “Jo hit the two homers to put us on the board and it was cool to be able to get it done on the back end. It’s a big win for the boys because we’ve been grinding a bit late. But we’ve got a month left and we’re going to do our best to lock in.”

Moniak reached 12 homers on the year but it was his sixth in August and first career multihomer game. His first blast came in the seventh, when he smacked a two-run shot with one out that knocked Mariners starter Bryan Woo from the game. Moniak fell behind in the count, but Woo left an 0-2 changeup up in the zone and Moniak delivered with his clutch blast.

In the ninth, it was a solo shot off reliever Andrés Mu?oz on a 1-2 slider that atoned for Jack López’s failed suicide squeeze attempt in the eighth. López replaced Zach Neto, who was taken out after an error and a misplay at second base. Manager Ron Washington didn’t believe Neto was fully into the game.

Moniak, 26, headed into August hitting .211 with six homers in 88 games but has started to look much more like he did last year when he experienced a breakout season with the club. He was red-hot in August, batting .359 with six homers, five doubles and 13 RBIs in 19 games.

“He’s getting the ball middle-in and he’s not missing right now,” Washington said. “He's locked in. And I hope it continues throughout the rest of his time in baseball.”

Adell, meanwhile, picked up his fourth career multihomer game and he’s now reached 20 homers in a season for the first time in his career. He’s also five stolen bases away from joining Neto in the 20/20 club

“Coming into the season, [20 homers] was a soft goal,” Adell said. “The more I continue to pick the right pitches out, good things happen. So it’s a pretty special number for me in my first full season.”

Adell, 25, started the season hot offensively, but after cooling down in May, June and July, decided to rework his mechanics and cut out his leg kick on July 30. He’s turned it around since then, as he’s cut down on his strikeouts while maintaining a similar power profile despite the toned-down swing.

Adell has batted .273/.339/.505 with five homers, six doubles and 15 RBIs in 29 games since the alteration. He’s struck out in 25.2 percent of his plate appearances over that span, down from his 29.1 percent strikeout rate prior to the swing change. His batting average on the year has also jumped from .192 to .212 because of that stretch.

“It's a game changer for me,” Adell said. “I went into spring and attempted it but didn’t have the rhythm. But as the season went along, my swing got longer and we sat down and looked at the positives of having that toe down.”

Both of his homers came against Woo, the first one in the third on an 0-1 sinker that caught too much of the plate for a game-tying solo blast.

In the sixth, Adell led off the frame with a solo shot on a 2-1 fastball. It marked the first multihomer game for Adell since Aug. 26, 2022, at Toronto. His first was a low-liner with a launch angle of 18 degrees, while his second was a moonshot with a 44-degree launch angle.

He said it was fun to produce along with Moniak and that the goal is for them to build on their strong August.

“I think it’s big for us both,” Adell said. “It’s the end of the dog days of August and we’ve been grinding. It’s about how you finish and we’re looking to finish strong.”