Trout’s 3-run homer powers Angels’ rally past Toronto 9-5
By Greg Beacham, The Associated Press on April 8, 2023.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Mike Trout hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels roared back from a four-run deficit for a 9-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night. Shohei Ohtani doubled and scored in the fourth before Trout capped a four-run rally in the fifth by homering in his second straight game for the Angels, who have won five of seven. Hunter Renfroe hit his first homer for the Angels and drove in three runs, while Luis Rengifo also homered in the fifth. Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman hit two-run homers in the third for the Blue Jays, whose four-game winning streak ended. George Springer also homered, but it was Toronto’s only run in the final six innings. Anthony Rendon had two singles and drove in a run in the Angels’ $245-million third baseman’s return from a four-game suspension for a confrontation with a fan in Oakland last week. Tyler Anderson yielded three homers and five runs in his home debut with the Angels, failing to last five innings for the first time in 22 starts since June 9 with the Dodgers. Jaime Barria (1-0) escaped a jam in the fifth for Los Angeles. José BerrÃos (0-2) gave up six hits and four earned runs while pitching into the fifth for the Jays, lowering his ERA to 11.17. After pitching six scoreless innings last week in his first start since agreeing to a $39-million contract with the Angels, Anderson gave up seven hits and two walks. The late-blooming lefty allowed five earned runs in only one of his final 16 starts for the Dodgers during the 2022 All-Star campaign that led to his free-agent deal down the I-5 in Anaheim. A day after hitting a decisive three-run homer in the seventh inning of Toronto’s 4-3 victory, Bichette had an extra-base hit in his sixth consecutive game at Angel Stadium while Toronto got four consecutive one-out hits off Anderson in the third. Bichette’s two-run shot to the trees beyond centre was followed by Chapman’s first homer of the season. The homer was the 11th at Angel Stadium for Chapman, who went to high school in Orange County and then played at Cal State Fullerton, just a few kilometres away. Springer hit his first homer leading off the fifth, but the Angels took a 7-5 lead in the bottom half on the third homer of the season by Trout, who hit Adam Cimber’s pitch to almost exactly the same spot as his homer on Friday night. UP NEXT Yusei Kikuchi (1-0, 1.80 ERA) takes the mound when Toronto wraps up its 10-game, season-opening road trip against Reid Detmers (0-0, 3.86) and the Halos. — AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 15-14
