ANAHEIM -- With the way the Angels had been scuffling offensively for more than a week, a comeback certainly didn¡¯t appear likely being down three runs in the ninth inning.
It also didn¡¯t help that the Giants had their closer Ryan Walker on the mound, as he had a 1.91 ERA in 80 innings last year and a 1.13 ERA through his first eight appearances this season. But the Angels pulled off an improbable comeback, as Jo Adell was the hero with a walk-off three-run double to lift the Angels to a 5-4 win at Angel Stadium. It was their first walk-off victory of the year and the second career walk-off for Adell.
¡°Oh man, that was big,¡± Adell said. ¡°I needed that. We needed that as a group. We were battling out there. [Justin] Verlander was really, really good today. And on both sides, there was no quit. And we got to that final inning and you saw us starting to piece it together, and when the situation comes up, you never know when it's going to be you. And, man, I was just really glad to get it done.¡±
The Angels hadn't scored more than five runs in any of their last eight games, while averaging just 2.1 runs per contest and going 2-6 during that stretch. But the Angels found a way to come through when it mattered the most and their resiliency has impressed manager Ron Washington early this season. It gave the Angels the series victory, as they improved to 11-10 on the year.
¡°It just shows you, we're not quitters, we kept fighting,¡± Washington said. ¡°It was against their closer, and we got into a situation where we had a chance to put it away, and we finally got a big hit in that situation, and that's what it's about.¡±
Mike Trout sparked the rally with a walk and Jorge Soler followed with a single. Logan O¡¯Hoppe singled to load the bases and Zach Neto was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home a run.
It set the stage for Adell to rip a double into the left-field corner to clear the bases. He credited Trout for giving him advice once he came around to score on Neto¡¯s hit-by-pitch and said it was a walk-off he¡¯ll always remember coming off a quality reliever in Walker.
¡°Obviously he's been really nasty, and he's a tough look,¡± Adell said. ¡°It was funny, once Trout scored, he came up to me and he goes, ¡®Hey, man, you don't need to be the hero. Just nice and easy.¡¯ And I really let that sink in. And I got in there, and that was my approach.¡±
Neto shook off the hit by pitch and narrowly beat the relay home to secure the win, with the call getting confirmed by replay. Neto said he never even looked at third-base coach Eric Young Sr., as he was going to try to score as soon as he saw the ball went into left field.
¡°I knew I was the winning run,¡± Neto said. ¡°I was trying to get a good jump, saw the ball go over [third baseman Matt] Chapman¡¯s head. And I was like, ¡®I'm full go.¡¯ Didn't even look at the left fielder. Didn't even look at EY. I just wasn't gonna stop.¡±
Lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings, didn¡¯t factor into the decision but was excited to see his club win for the first time through his first five starts this year. He credited Neto for being a spark plug, as he homered off Verlander and made his long-awaited season debut on Friday.
¡°It's obviously been tough the last few games, but there is no quit in this team,¡± Kikuchi said through interpreter Yuske Oshima. ¡°We¡¯ve been losing a few games recently, but the energy in the clubhouse is still there and I like the way we fought until the end today. And Neto being back brings us some energy as well.¡±
Washington said he¡¯s hopeful this will give his club some momentum and get the offense going again but cautioned about staying even keel.
¡°Any time you get a win, it does something for you, and the way we got it today, let's enjoy it,¡± Washington said. ¡°But we got Pittsburgh coming into town on Tuesday. We're early in the season, and we just can't let a win like this make us think all of a sudden we¡¯ve got it figured out. But I¡¯m happy with the way we battled and I¡¯m happy for Jo.¡±