ARLINGTON -- The streaking Halos have been red-hot in the month of June and continued their torrid pace with an impressive 7-3 victory over the Rangers Tuesday evening at Globe Life Field.
Fueled by a couple of timely home runs by Hunter Renfroe and Zach Neto -- as well as a solid showing by the bullpen -- the Angels have now claimed the first two of a four-game series against Texas and have won eight of their past nine overall.
“We’re playing team baseball,” said Mickey Moniak, who robbed a home run with a leaping catch in center field, patrolling the position as Mike Trout took a rare day off. “The starters have gone out and given us quality starts day in and day out. The bullpen has come in and locked it down and the offense is coming up with timely hits. And, as the last two days have shown, if we get down, we know that we are never out of it. We know we have an offense that can hang with the best of them.”
Angels skipper Phil Nevin also spoke glowingly of the team’s winning stretch, and noted that improved defense -- not the red-hot offense -- has been the biggest catalyst behind the Halos’ success.
“For the most part, we’ve cleaned up our defense,” Nevin said. “We’ve played some clean games. Obviously, there’s a lot that goes into [a winning streak], and we know that they don’t last forever. But, for the most part, we’re playing clean baseball.”
Speaking of defense, let’s discuss one of the most notable highlights: the Moniak robbery.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Angels trailing 2-1, Ezequiel Duran nearly extended the Rangers’ lead to two runs with a solo home run to center field. Nearly. Fortunately for the Angels, Moniak had others plans.
After Duran scorched the seventh pitch of the at-bat 103.2 mph, Moniak raced toward the barricade wall near the visitors' bullpen, tracking the ball every step of the way. Leery of crashing into the wall but laser-focused on making the grab, the former No. 1 overall Draft pick leapt into the air and scaled the wall to make a home run-saving catch in center field.
“These last two batting practices we’ve taken here, I’ve just been staring at the short fences in left-center and right-center field and hoping for a ball to mess around and rob. I ended up getting my chance in the game. I knew he hit it pretty good and I kind of just put my head down and tried to run to the spot. Once I got back there, I had a pretty good idea of where the wall was and I just jumped up, grabbed the wall and tried to hang there for a bit and I was lucky enough to make the catch.”
A couple of innings later, with the Angels trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth inning, the offense began to heat up. After Taylor Ward struck out to lead off the inning, Shohei Ohtani and Brandon Drury started a rally with back-to-back singles. Then, with two runners on and just one out, Ohtani was able to scurry home after Corey Seager mishandled the ball while attempting to turn a double play. The following at-bat, Renfroe made the Rangers pay for the costly error and launched a two-run, opposite field home run to give the Angels their first lead of the game and one they wouldn't relinquish.
The blast traveled 365 feet and was the first homer for Renfroe since returning to the lineup from paternity leave for the birth of his daughter, Alison.
When asked if he felt a bit lighter on his feet rounding the bases for the first time as a father, Renfroe issued a heartwarming response.
“Yeah, you could say I feel a little lighter weight-wise from getting no sleep,” Renfroe said through a smile. “But no, I feel fine. It’s been a while since I hit a homer, so it felt really good for me. And, as a father, this is pretty special for me. Getting that first one as a dad is pretty cool.”
In the top of the ninth inning, Neto cashed in with a two-run homer of his own, providing the Halos with some added insurance to extend the lead to 6-3 before Drury chipped in an RBI single to make it 7-3. After two of the first three Rangers reached safely in the 9th, Carlos Estévez entered and retired two straight batters to finish the victory, a familiar outcome for the Angels in June.