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Los Angeles Angels’ Albert Pujols rounds first and heads
for second for a double during the fifth inning of a baseball game
against the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday, May 2, 2018, in Anaheim, Calif.
With the double Pujols broke a tie with Hank Aaron for career doubles,
reaching 625, and brought his all-time career hits to 2,998. (AP
Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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By GREG BEACHAM, AP
ANAHEIM, Calif.
Albert Pujols is closing in fast on his 3,000th hit, and his fellow Los Angeles Angels are gathering momentum right along with him.
Pujols reached 2,998 career hits with a home run and a double, and Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning of the Angels’ 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
Mike Trout and Pujols both homered in the first, and Upton drove in four runs while the Angels earned their second straight win following a 3-9 skid.
Pujols followed Trout’s tape-measure shot with his 620th career homer off Dylan Bundy (1-4) into the bullpens beyond left field. Pujols then got a standing ovation when he legged out a double in the fifth, sliding into second base with seldom-seen spryness.
While Pujols is likely to become the 32nd member of the 3,000-hit club quite soon, he will need two knocks on Thursday if he hopes to do it at Angel Stadium before the club heads to Seattle to begin a five-game road trip.
“It would be nice to do it in front of the fans that support you every day, but I can’t focus on that,” Pujols said. “If it doesn’t happen (Thursday), it’s going to happen soon. We just need to concentrate on getting better and winning like we’ve been doing this week.”
The Angels did it with plenty of offense this time. Trout and Pujols homered in the same first inning for the eighth time, setting a major league record for teammates.
Shortly after Baltimore took a 1-0 lead on Machado’s sacrifice fly, Trout hit his 11th homer deep into the left-field stands. The two-time AL MVP sent it so long and so far down the line that Statcast couldn’t accurately measure the distance.
“I saw 524 feet, but I’m not going to calculate the distance,” Angels starter Andrew Heaney said. “Yeah, 524 seems generous, but he’s a strong dude, and he got all of it, so ...”
Heaney (1-1) yielded five hits and one run over six solid innings to earn his second major league victory since September 2015. The left-hander missed large portions of the past two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Manny Machado drove in two runs and made another throwing error for the last-place Orioles, who have lost 14 of 17.
Pinch-hitter Jace Peterson had a three-run triple during Baltimore’s five-run ninth against reliever Eduardo Paredes before Jim Johnson ended the rally.
Pujols’ double chased Bundy, who allowed seven hits and five earned runs.
“He just elevated his pitches, and we didn’t help him in a couple of instances,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. “Dylan is a battler, a competitor, and we know he’ll get better. I didn’t think he was quite as good as he was capable of.”
J-UP’S JACK
Right before Pujols’ double, Trout drew a walk to set the table for Upton, who delivered a three-run shot to left. Upton also had a walk-off single Tuesday night right after Trout drew a walk.
Upton’s homer was his first since April 14. Trout, Pujols and Upton homered in the same game for the first time since uniting with the Angels late last season.
SHOTIME
A few hours after Shohei Ohtani was selected AL rookie of the month for April, the two-way Japanese star went 0 for 4 for just the second time in his Angels career. He still reached on an error and scored a run while batting fifth as Los Angeles’ designated hitter. Ohtani also threw a light bullpen session. He won’t make his next pitching start until Sunday in Seattle, or perhaps later.
FIRST HIT
Orioles second baseman Engelb Vielma got his first big league hit in the fifth inning, lining a single to right. The 23-year-old Venezuelan then walked and scored his first career run in the eighth.
BIG BAT
Martin Maldonado went 3 for 4 for the second straight night for the Angels, getting an RBI double in the sixth and his first homer in the eighth. The Gold Glove catcher was in an 0-for-34 slump before the series.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: Catcher Chance Sisco felt fine one day after a scary collision with teammate Pedro Alvarez’s elbow while they chased a foul popup. Sisco said he has a facial bruise, but no concussion symptoms.
Angels: Nick Tropeano went on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. The right-hander pitched one-hit ball into the seventh inning against Baltimore on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Orioles: Anaheim native Chris Tillman (1-4, 7.03 ERA) looks to pick up his second consecutive win after dazzling Detroit with seven innings of one-hit ball last week.
Angels: Jaime Barria (1-1, 3.86) is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake for his third career start. The 21-year-old Panamanian right-hander debuted April 11 in the Halos’ injury-plagued rotation.
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More AP baseball: www.apnews.com/tags/MLBbaseball
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