Angels hit road with momentum after Neto flips script

ANAHEIM -- With the offense scuffling over the last 10 games, Zach Neto played the much-needed role of hero for the Angels on Thursday night.

Neto blasted a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning to lift the Angels to a 4-3 win over the Pirates and avoid a three-game sweep at Angel Stadium. Neto has brought a boost to the Angels, as he was just activated from the injured list on Friday after undergoing right shoulder surgery in November. He picked up three hits in the victory after going a combined 0-for-8 in the first two games of the series.

“It’s a sigh of relief,” Neto said. “Being back, thinking I knew I had it, and getting humbled early in this series. Chasing pitches, doing something I wasn't normally doing, especially during my rehab assignment. So just getting back to the basics, staying consistent with what I was doing, hitting my pitches, and I had a pretty good day.”

Neto’s big blast came on a 1-2 sweeper from reliever Chase Shugart that caught too much of the zone. It was Neto's second homer in six games, and he has slashed .238/.273/.619 with two doubles and four RBIs since returning from the IL. He was the club’s best player in 2024, leading the Angels with 5.1 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.

“That was awesome,” manager Ron Washington said. “He was very aggressive early in the count. He figured out what the guy was trying to do. And he trusted what he thought he saw, and he came away with three hits tonight, and that big one was the home run.”

The Angels came into the game averaging just 2.3 runs per contest over their last 11 games, including suffering a 3-0 shutout on Wednesday. But they broke a 17-inning scoreless streak with a three-run fourth inning. Mike Trout sparked the rally with a triple and scored on a single from Taylor Ward before Logan O'Hoppe connected on a game-tying two-run homer.

O’Hoppe said they believed it was just a matter of time before getting things going offensively again and that they didn’t panic despite their recent collective funk.

“It's good,” O’Hoppe said. “It's nothing new, though. We know what we're capable of doing, so it was good to see it come to fruition. It’s been obviously a tough couple days, but no one's surprised by tonight.”

Washington was pleased to see the rally in the fourth inning and is hopeful they can build on it going forward. The Halos had combined for just three runs in the first two games of the series, so this marked an improvement.

“It didn't matter who in that lineup did it, but we needed it,” Washington said. “I'm glad O’Hoppe did what he did. I'm glad Neto did what he did. I'm glad Mike [Trout] got us started with that triple. So, we needed everything that everyone did on that field tonight, including those pitchers.”

It was enough offense for the Angels, with Tyler Anderson allowing three runs over six innings in a quality start and relievers Ryan Johnson, Ryan Zeferjahn and closer Kenley Jansen each throwing a scoreless inning. It’ll lead to a happier flight to Minnesota for the Angels, who aren’t expected to arrive in Minneapolis until roughly 5 a.m. prior to their 6:40 p.m. CT game at Target Field on Friday.

“It's a momentum booster,” Neto said. “It wasn't going our way these past couple days. We were beat pretty bad these past two days. It’s a momentum booster going into this flight. It's gonna be a lot of adversity. We know what we’ve got coming up, but we're here for it. We already talked about it in this clubhouse. We’re not going to complain about it.”

Washington, though, said the flight will still be tough on the club but that they’ll be ready to play their series opener in Minnesota. Friday’s starter, Kyle Hendricks, flew ahead of his teammates to get ready for his outing.

“It's nice to have a win, but that flight is not going to be comfortable,” Washington said with a smile. “But I'm going to do the best I can to get me some sleep, getting in at 6 in the morning, and I'm going to get me some more sleep, and I'm going to go to the ballpark ready to win a ballgame. A flight isn’t going to affect that. It’s mind over matter.”