Angels offense explodes in wild comeback win vs. Oakland

Monday’s game was certifiably drunk.

After a brutal finish to the road trip where they were swept by the Texas Rangers, the Angels had another divisional matchup against the Oakland Athletics in Anaheim. Yes, those same Athletics who just reeled off nine straight wins, including a memorable Sunday game against the Houston Astros that included a benches-clearing brawl.

Back in the comfy confines of Angel Stadium, the Angels offense pounded out four consecutive hits in the bottom of the first inning. With a 3-0 lead, the Angels gave themselves both the lead and an early cushion. Anthony Rendon’s second home run with the Angels, a two-run shot, snapped his hitless streak of 28 at-bats.

Their early lead lasted about all of 20 minutes. Making his second start with the Angels, Julio Teherán quickly gave up the lead. After a Matt Chapman solo home run, Oakland tacked on two more runs to tie the game. Chapman homered again the following inning. The very next inning, Chapman cleared the bases with a triple. A once-promising start quickly became a 9-4 deficit and the Angels were looking at yet another defeat.

Just when all appeared to be lost, the Angels started chipping away. In the fourth inning, Mike Trout clobbered a 428-foot two-run blast to bring the Angels within three runs. Since returning from paternity leave on August 4th, Trout flashed some elite dad strength with his fifth home run in a 7-game stretch.

Two innings later, a 110.4 mph missile left Shohei Ohtani’s bat and landed in the right-field pavilion, tying the game up at nine runs apiece. For the first time this season, Trout, Rendon, and Ohtani homered in the same game. Add in Jo Adell’s first-multi hit game (both were hit 106+ mph) and you had a glimpse of what this offense could do when they were clicking.

Mike Trout, once again, proved he was beyond this world in the eighth inning. Former Angel Yusmeiro Petit ‘s two-strike curveball met Trout’s bat and left the bat at 109.4 mph, traveling 426 feet to give the Angels the 10-9 lead. Trout now had an absurd six home runs in a 7-game stretch. What was once a 3-0 lead and then a 9-4 deficit, now became a 10-9 lead. Like I said, this game was drunk.

Ty Buttrey shut it down in the ninth, securing a much-needed win for the Angels. The disastrous previous series was met with a spectacularly fun and entertaining win for the Angels.

*Cover Photo: USA TODAY Sports*