Upton, Goodwin pick up slack in Trout's absence

CHICAGO -- It would be hard to imagine a situation where the Angels could celebrate on a night in which they lost superstar Mike Trout to injury, but somehow they did.

Outfielders Brian Goodwin and Justin Upton played co-heroes as their pair of late homers erased a two-run deficit and lifted the Angels to a 5-4 victory over the White Sox on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

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“It was fun to witness that and see the fight from our guys,” Trout said.

Following Trout’s departure in the fifth inning, the night seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. Starter Dillon Peters, who grinded through his 4 1/3 innings, allowed a two-run shot to Tim Anderson to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead and essentially take the air out of the Angels.

But the fight never left the Halos, in fact, some of the fight came off the bench.

Goodwin, who is in the midst of a career year offensively, has been the right man in the right spot for the Angels all season long. After Trout was removed with right toe discomfort, it was Goodwin who replaced him.

“When I went down, we didn’t know what we had in Goody. But he comes to the field everyday with great energy,” Upton said. “He wants to get in the game. He wants to get in the big situations.”

Trout’s spot in the order would come up after the Angels got a runner on in the top of the eighth inning . A situation that usually leads to the two-time American League Most Valuable Player coming up with a huge hit.

Despite not having their best hitter, Goodwin would do his best Trout impersonation against one of Chicago's best relievers, Aaron Bummer. Goodwin worked the count to 3-1 before turning on Bummer’s next offering, sending it over the right-field wall to tie the game at 4.

“[Bummer’s] ball is moving like a foot,” Goodwin said. “Really just had to get something up. I know he tried to come inside on me and use that sink to his advantage. Just tried to get something out over the plate.”

“I was actually mad at myself for not giving him the 3-0 swing, but he took advantage of the 3-1,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. “He’s done an outstanding job for us. This was a guy we picked up two days before the season started, and he’s become an intricate part of our team. Both offensively and defensively.”

Upton would finish what Goodwin started by unloading on the first pitch he saw from Sox closer Alex Colomé in the top of the ninth, hitting it into the left-field seats. The 406-foot blast, per Statcast, gave the Angels a 5-4 lead.

Upton has been the hot man for the Angels with Trout banged up and Shohei Ohtani scuffling. The 32-year-old outfielder is hitting .320 over his last seven games, with three homers and a 1.066 OPS.

“I’ve been with Upton now for a number of years in Detroit and here. When he’s hot and squares the ball up, it goes out in a hurry,” Ausmus said. “That was one of those no-doubters. He’s been making more consistent solid contact, and when he’s making solid contact, you're usually seeing balls fly over the wall.”

“I think that’s a goal of ours as a unit. We’re just never going to roll over,” Upton said. “We’re just going to go out there and play to the best of our abilities, and see what happens.”