The strangest moment of the Los Angeles Angels’ victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday was also the final moment. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe stepped up to the plate in a 7-7 game with a runner on first and the daunting Josh Hader on the mound. And on a first-pitch slider, O’Hoppe belted a ball to right field that looked like it would find the glove of former Angel Trey Cabbage.
It did find Cabbage’s glove. Then it bounced away and into the first rows of the short right field wall at Angel Stadium. O’Hoppe barely understood what was happening, while Kevin Pillar — at first base — retreated believing it was an out. But it was O’Hoppe’s first ever walk-off homer that allowed the Angels to avoid the sweep.
It was a part of a 4-for-5 day for O’Hoppe that included the two RBI and three runs scored. He was one of four Angels — Pillar, Willie Calhoun and Luis Rengifo — to have a multi-hit day. And while O’Hoppe credited Cabbage for even getting close to making a play on the ball, he was happy with the final result, according to Brent Maguire of MLB.com:
“It was bizarre,” O’Hoppe said after the game. “I thought [Cabbage] caught it at first. It was a hell of a play. To even get a glove on it was impressive. Selfishly, I’m happy it dropped.”
“It’s a big one. I’m still not sure what really happened,” O’Hoppe said. “I’m trying to process it all, but it was a cool moment.”
O’Hoppe got plenty of praise from manager Ron Washington, as well. The Angels skipper was proud of the way O’Hoppe hit the ball throughout the game, but especially in the big moment.
“The good thing about today was he hit the ball to right field. Then he caught that breaking ball [against Hader on the walk-off],” Washington said about O’Hoppe. “He did a tremendous job, especially with the part where he stayed to right field. He doesn’t always have to be trying to pull the ball. Maybe this is a step forward for him in understanding that he can use the other side of the field.”
The Angels are in the business of little victories such as these, when O’Hoppe shows exactly the type of player he’s shaping up to be. And it closes out a successful 4-2 home stand for a team that had been mightily struggling to win games in front of their home fans.
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