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Angels pitcher Kyle Hendricks throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
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Angels pitcher Kyle Hendricks throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
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WEST SACRAMENTO — Who would have guessed that Yoán Moncada would become such a key piece of the Angels’ lineup?
Moncada’s fourth homer in 13 games since coming off the injured list lifted the Angels to a 7-5 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night.
“He’s such a good hitter, and it’s pretty fun to watch on a day-to-day basis, how pro he keeps his work and really how he approaches the day,” catcher Logan O’Hoppe said. “So he impacts more guys than he probably knows.”
The Angels trailed by three runs in the fifth inning when Moncada blasted a three-run homer. Two batters later, O’Hoppe knocked in Taylor Ward with the go-ahead run, and the Angels bullpen held the lead to secure their first five-game winning streak of the season.
Closer Kenley Jansen, pitching for the fourth time in five days, gave up a run but still recorded his 10th save of the season.
The Angels (22-25) have played better over the past couple weeks, a stretch that’s coincided with Moncada’s return to the lineup. He missed a month with a thumb injury.
Manager Ron Washington said Moncada’s disciplined at-bats influence other players.
“He makes the pitcher work,” Washington said. “And the more he makes the pitcher work, the benefit goes to the next guy. And that’s what the lineup is about, trying to benefit the next guy, and that’s what he brings.”
Since he returned to action on May 6, the Angels are 8-5 in his starts. Moncada, who also had a single in the Angels’ two-run ninth inning, has a .910 OPS and 12 RBIs since coming back. Two of his homers have been three-run homers. He hit a two-run homer in the first inning of their victory over the Dodgers on Friday night.
This one was the big blow in a four-run fifth that turned the game, just after the Angels fell behind, 4-1, in the bottom of the fourth.
Luis Rengifo led off the inning by fighting A’s starter Gunnar Hoglund through a 12-pitch plate appearance, culminating with a single. It was the longest plate appearance of Rengifo’s career.
After that, Hoglund couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked Kyren Paris on four pitches. Zach Neto helped him out by hitting a popup on the first pitch. Nolan Schanuel then got ahead 3-and-0 before grounding out.
Moncada then demonstrated the way to take advantage of a pitcher struggling with his control. Moncada got a 2-and-0 pitch from Hoglund and he crushed it 439 feet, into the trees beyond the berm in right, tying the game.
That blast also helped Moncada flush the frustration from his previous trip to the plate. He had asked for time after a called strike on a 3-and-1 pitch, but plate ump Andy Fletcher didn’t see him signal, Moncada said. Fletcher then called an automatic third strike on Moncada for a pitch-timer violation.
“I was pissed at that at-bat,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “When I hit that (home run), I feel I had my soul back.”
Ward then launched the first of his two doubles, giving him an extra base hit in six straight games. He scored on a single from O’Hoppe, who had provided the Angels’ first run with his 11th homer of the season.
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who had been working in and out of trouble all night, then came back to the mound and got the Angels five more outs, finishing 5⅔ innings.
Hendricks has a 5.32 ERA through his first nine starts, but he has consistently kept the Angels in games. Hendricks has pitched at least five innings seven times, and he’s left with the Angels ahead or within two runs six times.
The bullpen took over with a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Left-hander Reid Detmers got three outs, including a diving catch from right fielder Jo Adell. Right-hander Hunter Strickland picked up the next three outs on 11 pitches. Left-hander Brock Burke recorded the final out of the eighth inning.
The Angels scored twice in the top of the ninth to provide a cushion for Jansen. He became the fourth pitcher in major league history to record at least 10 saves in 14 straight seasons. The others are Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith and John Franco.
The bullpen has suddenly become reliable, just as the situational hitting and defense have also improved, helping the Angels to get back within three games of .500 for the first time since they were swept in Minnesota last month.
“It’s great,” O’Hoppe said. “It shows us that that little lull we went into, however many weeks ago was, is a perfect example of what we were practicing, which is not panicking, and that things are going to change, and they have right now. But that doesn’t mean that everything’s set in stone, and it’s gonna be perfect all the time, either. So we’re gonna enjoy this and ride this wave as long as we can, and approach tomorrow with a clean slate.”
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