ANAHEIM -- After snapping an 0-for-23 funk with a single to right field in the third inning, Zach Neto didn’t have much time to celebrate.
Instead, Neto was promptly picked off at first base by right-hander Erick Fedde, continuing his recent woes. But Neto made up for it in his next at-bat, as he crushed a go-ahead homer off Fedde in the fifth inning to lift the Angels to a 4-3 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. It was Neto’s sixth homer of the year but his first in nearly a month, as his last came back on April 10.
The Angels are hoping this will get Neto going, as he’s an incredibly important part of the team and led the club in wins above replacement in each of the last two seasons. But he’d been scuffling recently, as his last hit was a leadoff single on April 28 and he had struck out in 13 of his previous 22 at-bats coming into the game.
Neto, however, looked locked in against Fedde, including in his first at-bat, when he lined out sharply to right field on a 1-1 cutter off the outside edge.
It was a sign of things to come, as he finally snapped his skid with a one-out single on a first-pitch fastball from Fedde in the third. But Neto took too big of a lead at first base and was picked off for the second out before Mike Trout walked. It spoiled a potential rally for the Angels, as Nolan Schanuel grounded out to second to end the inning.
Neto, though, came through in a big way in his next at-bat, as he crushed a 2-2 sweeper from Fedde for a go-ahead blast with two outs in the fifth. Neto admired his shot to left field, as it was a no-doubter that left the bat at 104.7 mph and went a projected 410 feet, per Statcast.
It also sparked a two-out rally for the Angels, as Trout followed with a walk and scored on an RBI double from Schanuel that knocked Fedde from the game. Trout previously homered in the first inning to get the Angels on the board, while Jorge Soler also went deep in the opening frame.
Neto struck out in his final at-bat to finish 2-for-4, registering his first multi-hit game since April 26. The 25-year-old is slashing .218/.327/.395 with six homers, eight doubles, seven stolen bases and 16 RBIs in 37 games.