ANAHEIM -- Michael Trout was intentionally walked three times on Tuesday in order to get to Justin Upton, who had been mired in a 5-for-41 funk with 16 strikeouts in his previous 11 games. Each time, Upton produced an out.
Trout's fifth plate appearance on the night yielded a regular old walk, shifting the baton, yet again, to a slumping Upton. The situation afforded -- bases loaded, one out, tied game, bottom of the ninth -- was no better forum for Upton to finally exorcise the hitting demons that haunted him all April. This time, he delivered, lining an 0-2 slider into left field for his 11th career walk-off hit -- his first with the Angels -- giving the Halos a 3-2 win over the Orioles and snapping their four-game losing streak.
"Baseball's a humbling game," Upton said. "The first three times they walked Trouty were pretty humbling. But no time in my career have I ever backed down from a challenge, and I had an opportunity again and went and took my swings."

Nick Tropeano, pitching in place of Shohei Ohtani -- whose mild left ankle sprain precluded him from taking the mound on Tuesday as previously scheduled -- allowed just one hit over 6 1/3 innings in his best start of the season. He induced a season-high 12 swinging strikes, fanning five.
"Nick used all his pitches," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Any time you can bring your whole repertoire into the game and change speeds, and hit your spots, you have a good chance for success, and he did tonight."

Tropeano's effort, however, ended in a no-decision after Cam Bedrosian blew a save in the ninth.
Bedrosian was filling in for regular closer Keynan Middleton, who was put on the disabled list before the game with right elbow inflammation. The Angels' bullpen came into the game with the second-lowest ERA in the American League at 3.12, but it could not seal the deal when needed.
Relievers Justin Anderson, Jose Alvarez and Jim Johnson combined to throw 1 2/3 innings, continuing the one-hit shutout, before Bedrosian gave up two runs on three hits. It was Bedrosian's first blown save of the season. He did pick up the win by virtue of Upton's heroics in the bottom of the inning, however.

Though Ohtani did not end up toeing the rubber, he started at DH and went 1-for-4 with a line-drive double down the left-field line. Ohtani said after the game that his sprained ankle was a non-factor while running the bases.
"My foot felt good running down the baseline," Ohtani said via interpreter. "There was no pain, so I was able to run through it, no fear or worries."
Ohtani is now slashing .333/.373/.667 on the season with four homers and 12 RBIs. He ranks sixth in slugging percentage and seventh in OPS (1.039) in the American League (min. 45 at-bats). He has hit safely in 11 of 12 starts at designated hitter this season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Simmons' Little League homer: He didn't hit the ball out of the park, but Andrelton Simmons still managed to circle the bases with the help of an error by Manny Machado in the sixth inning of the Angels' series opener against the Orioles on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.
After Simmons lined a two-out double to left field, Trey Mancini threw the ball in to Machado, who fired an errant throw to second that evaded Jace Peterson and skipped out of play, allowing Simmons to score and give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Valbuena's big league homer: One batter after Simmons' mad dash around the bases gave the Angels their first run, Luis Valbuena jacked a towering home run to right field, good for his fourth homer on the season. The home run extended the Angels' advantage to 2-0.

Slumping Halo bats see a resurgence: The bats that have been producing at worrisome levels this season had a bit of a bounceback day. Martin Maldonado was deep into a 0-for-34 slump before going 3-for-4 on the night. Kole Calhoun, in a 3-for-43 slump, went 1-for-4. Ian Kinsler -- stuck in a 5-for-47 rut -- went 2-for-5. Upton's hit in the ninth snapped an 0-for-21 RISP streak for the club.
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Ohtani's double was his seventh extra-base hit, tying the franchise record for most extra-base hits through 13 career games. The last to do it was Jackie Warner in 1966.
UP NEXT
Andrew Heaney (0-1, 6.91 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season on Wednesday at 7:07 p.m. PT against the Orioles. The left-hander received a no-decision vs. the Yankees in his last start, throwing five innings and allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Heaney, 0-0 with a 7.59 ERA in two career starts vs. Baltimore, will match up with the Orioles' Dylan Bundy (1-3, 2.97 ERA).