The Los Angeles Angels were down to their last out in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox when Jared Walsh roped an RBI single to tie it off reliever Jake Diekman. That blown save was the 20th in MLB thus far in 2022, and seven of them belong to the Red Sox.
L.A. forced extra innings and found themselves up against the wall with two outs in the top of the 10th inning. With the ghost runner already on second base, Taylor Ward smoked a pinch-hit, two-run home run over the Green Monster in left-center to put the Angels up 6-4. An RBI single by Anthony Rendon tacked on another run, but then Walsh came through again.
His three-run opposite-field home run pushed the game out of reach and manager Joe Maddon said he was thrilled at the performance from his club after a few rough games against the Chicago White Sox this past week, via Maureen Mullen of the L.A. Times:
“The whole team, we just never gave up,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “A team win, I love when that happens and everybody takes part in ownership. It’s always a wonderful night.”
Walsh’s game-tying hit in the ninth is a testament to his continued work against lefties and how much the atmosphere at Fenway Park fueled him:
“When the whole stadium’s going crazy, you got to really slow yourself down and live in that moment,” Walsh said. “Just trying to have an extra layer of focus there.”
For the first time since 2009, the Angels scored six runs in extra innings as they went on to win the game 10-5. They now lead the American League West by 1.5 games.
Ward named Player of the Week
Prior to the regular season, Taylor Ward was in the mix to be the starting right-fielder for the Los Angeles Angels, but an injury in the Freeway Series before Opening Day derailed his start to the year. Since his activation on April 16, Ward has been one of the best players in MLB.
Ward was recognized by MLB for his contributions and has been chosen as the American League Player of the Week. This is his first career A.L. player of the week award and the Angels’ first recipient since fellow teammate David Fletcher did in July 2021.
After batting .448 (13-for-29) with 10 runs scored, two doubles, a triple, four home runs, 11 RBI, two walks, and a 1.000 slugging percentage over seven games played this past week, Ward was a one-man wrecking crew.
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