BALTIMORE-- The Angels came into Saturday's game against the Orioles with a 2-32 record when trailing after seven innings, but they improved on that statistic.
Jose Pujols tied the game with a double, pinch-hitter Chris Young added a go-ahead fielder's choice and David Fletcher delivered a two-run single as the Angels scored five runs in the eighth inning to pull out a 6-2 victory at Oriole Park.
The Angels had missed on some scoring chances earlier, not being able to come through with hits when needed. Still, everything changed in the eighth, when they turned a 2-1 deficit into a 6-2 lead.
"We had some big hits there; I think the biggest hit in the inning was Albert," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It was good clutch hitting in that inning. I think we had opportunities during the game that could have came back to haunt us, but we had a good eighth inning and got the lead."

The Angels' first run came on Andrelton Simmons' fourth-inning single, and they trailed for the first seven innings before things turned around in the eighth against Orioles reliever Mychal Givens (0-6) and, later, Tanner Scott.
Michael Trout and Justin Upton drew back-to-back one-out walks before Pujols sent a drive to the right-center-field wall for an RBI double. Scott replaced Givens, who induced the run-scoring fielder's choice from Young before hitting Martin Maldonado with the bases loaded to give Los Angeles a 4-2 lead.

Fletcher followed with his two-run single to center. Justin Anderson (2-2) got the win in relief.
"Whenever you can grind out runs late in the game to come back and win, it's exciting," Fletcher said. " It's definitely something to give us confidence, coming back late in the game like that."
Los Angeles starter Tyler Skaggs allowed three straight singles to start the game and conceded two runs (one earned) in the first inning, but he didn't allow another run through five good innings, and he left trailing, 2-1, after throwing 79 pitches and allowing four hits with six strikeouts.

Scioscia said that Skaggs was "gassed" on the humid afternoon -- the game-time temperature was listed at 93 degrees.
"I was just tired," Skaggs said. "I told [Scioscia], 'I very rarely come out and say this, but I'm exhausted.' I said, 'I could go another inning,' and he was like, 'We'll shut it down. You've thrown a great game today.'"
The bullpen kept the Angels in place for their late-inning rally, as four pitchers combined to allow just two hits and no runs over the final four innings. Richard Parker worked around a one-out single to pitch a scoreless ninth.
The Orioles now have dropped seven straight games and 17 of their last 18 at home.

SOUND SMART
Pujols' big double in the eighth was the 632nd of his career. That moved him into 10th place on the all-time list, tying him with David Ortiz. Pujols also is the only player to make the top 10 for both homers and doubles.

HE SAID IT
"It was definitely one of the hottest games I've thrown in a long time. The first inning didn't help either, because I got into trouble early. I exerted a lot of energy in the first innings." -- Skaggs, who threw 25 pitches in that first inning on a day when the heat index was approaching 100 degrees

UP NEXT
William McGuire (0-0, 6.08 ERA) will make his first start this season and his seventh appearance overall when he goes for the Angels in Sunday's 10:05 a.m. PT series finale with Baltimore at Camden Yards. He'll be pitching against Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.20), who has not won in his past eight starts, even though the right-hander hasn't pitched badly.