Travis d’Arnaud came off the bench to deliver a pinch-hit RBI single down the left-field line in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Los Angeles Angels a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.
Facing Arizona reliever Kyle Backhus (0-1), Logan O’Hoppe was hit by a pitch with one out before Luis Rengifo singled to left. d’Arnaud, pinch-hitting for Gustavo Campero, lined the game-winning hit to score the winning run and seal the comeback for the Angels.
Zach Neto and Yoan Moncada launched home runs in a four-run first inning for Los Angeles. Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel each tallied three hits as the Angels improved to 7-3 this season against teams from the National League West.
Arizona’s Randal Grichuk powered the offense with two homers and three RBI, but the Diamondbacks have now dropped seven of their last ten games. Alek Thomas contributed a two-run double as part of a four-run second inning for Arizona, which erased the Angels’ early lead.
Starting pitchers Ryne Nelson and Tyler Anderson both struggled. Nelson allowed four runs on seven hits with four walks in four innings for the D-backs, while Anderson gave up four runs on eight hits over five innings for the Angels.
Rengifo briefly gave the Angels a 5-4 advantage in the fifth with a two-out RBI double, before Grichuk tied it up again with his second homer in the eighth inning. Kenley Jansen (3-2) pitched a clean ninth to set up the walk-off.
Key Moment
In the fifth inning, O’Hoppe—who earlier took a hard slide at the plate—reached on a walk and then stole second base. Rengifo followed with a clutch double to put the Angels back in front 5-4 at the time.
Key Stat
Zach Neto hit his seventh leadoff home run of the season, tying Brian Downing’s Angels franchise record set in 1987.
Up Next
Arizona sends right-hander Zac Gallen (7-9, 5.15 ERA) to the mound on Saturday, while Angels All-Star lefty Yusei Kikuchi (3-6, 3.02 ERA) will look to build on a strong first half.
