Yardbarker
x
Angels hit four homers in win over Pirates
Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Rengifo hit two of Los Angeles' four home runs as the Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.

Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez hit back-to-back homers during a four-run fifth inning for the Angels, who concluded a nine-game homestand with a 6-3 mark. Shohei Ohtani added his major league-leading 36th homer of the season.

Tyler Anderson (5-2) allowed four runs with five strikeouts over six innings against his former team. Carlos Estevez worked around a two-out walk in the ninth for his 23rd save.

Pittsburgh trailed 7-1 before Carlos Santana capped a four-run seventh inning with a two-run double off Jacob Webb. The Pirates were held to a pair of baserunners in the final two innings and lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.

The Pirates claimed a brief lead on Bryan Reynolds' solo homer in the first inning. Ohtani answered with a solo blast in the bottom half of the inning off Mitch Keller (9-6).

Los Angeles appeared primed for a big inning after Eduardo Escobar doubled in a run with no outs in the second, but Keller escaped further damage by retiring the next three batters in order.

The Angels moved ahead 4-1 when Velazquez and Rengifo began the fifth inning with back-to-back homers. After the next two batters reached base safely, Taylor Ward singled in a run and Matt Thaiss capped the outburst with a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

Keller was lifted after giving up six runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out seven while throwing 101 pitches.

Rengifo hit a two-out homer in the sixth inning before Pittsburgh responded with four runs in the seventh. Liover Peguero doubled in a run with one out before Webb replaced Anderson. Peguero scored on a throwing error and Santana doubled in two runs to cut the lead to 7-5.

Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak singled in the fifth inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games. Moniak is hitting .379 (22-for-58) during his streak.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.