The Los Angeles Angels took over first place in the American League West with their 9-5 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday thanks to a unique performance from Taylor Ward.
Ward became the second MLB player in the modern era to have a double, a triple, a grand slam and 4+ runs scored in a single game. The only other player to accomplish the feat since 1958 was Roger Maris.
The Angels’ outfielder fell a single short of hitting for the cycle, but still had a day to remember while leading his club to a victory.
Taylor Ward of the @Angels is the second MLB player in the modern era to have a double, a triple, a grand slam and 4+ runs scored in a single game.
The other was Roger Maris on August 3, 1958.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 28, 2022
Coming into 2022, Ward figured to be a contributor and compete for a starting spot in right-field, but after coming off of the injured list, he has been hotter than anyone in MLB.
In his first 11 games, Ward is batting .395, with an on-base plus slugging of 1.347 with four home runs, two doubles, and nine RBIs.
The former first-round pick in the 2015 draft is a part of an offense that now leads MLB in runs and ranks in the top three in home runs.
3 Angels players with multi-home run games is MLB’s first
Ward’s presence has helped safeguard the club with a few of their premier bats off to slow starts, but his two-homer game on Monday put the Angels alone in MLB with three multi-homer games from their players. He joined Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani as the other Halos’ players to pull it off.
L.A. currently ranks No. 2 in MLB in wOBA and home runs, and Trout is a main driving force with his league-leading 1.234 on-base plus slugging and .347 batting average.
Coming off of a serious leg injury, Trout hasn’t missed a beat in 2022, and this past Saturday he notched his 21st career multi-homer game, which is more than any Angels player in the franchise’s history.
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