ANAHEIM, California – Jo Adell doubled and scored the tiebreaker on two flyouts in the eighth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night.
Tyler Anderson pitched into the seventh and Willie Calhoun had a leadoff RBI single for the Angels, who won for the second time in 10 games. Calhoun had two of the Halos’ four hits as they improved their worst home record in the majors to 8-21 in the opener of a six-game homestand.
“We just played baseball,” Anderson said. “We had good at-bats. On defense, we looked like we were really tight tonight, which was huge. And then the bullpen came in and did a great job and closed everything out.”
Adell opened the eighth with a double off the right wall against Adrian Morejon (1-1). Adell moved to third on Zach Neto’s flyout and scored easily on pinch-hitter Luis Guillorme’s sacrifice fly to center.
“That’s big, (because) situational hitting, especially in a close game, has been kind of our kryptonite,” Adell said. “Especially for me, going through that fear and being able to go to the other side and get a throw to drive, and then with two sac flies, we won the game. How much this can do for us.”
Hunter Strickland (2-1) escaped two jams before Angels closer Carlos Estévez finished his ninth save.
Manny Machado hit his first home run in 27 games for the Padres, who lost their second straight following a 5-1 lead. San Diego’s powerful lineup failed to score after the first inning, went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and made two key outs on baserunning risks that didn’t pay off.
“I’m confident our aggressiveness pays off for this team,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “It’s a mindset and we do a lot of really good things. If it doesn’t work, it might hurt. But man, we gotta appreciate it when it happens. … I love the mentality of the club, which is an aggressive club.”
Both starting pitchers excelled in the opener of a series between interleague rivals separated by about 90 miles of I-5.
Matt Waldron allowed two hits and struck out four in 6 1/3 innings in another strong start for San Diego. The part-time knuckleballer has pitched into the seventh inning for the first two times in his career in his last two starts.
“We can’t ask for much more from any starter — a fifth starter or a (No.) 1 starter,” Shildt said. “He comes out and comes in the seventh inning, and (they) get a run on the board. He did more than his part to help us win a game.”
Anderson allowed five hits and three walks for Los Angeles. He has allowed exactly one run in each of his last four starts, totaling 26 2/3 innings.
Machado hit a 438-foot drive off the fake rock pile beyond center field in the first inning for his sixth home run of the season and first since May 3.
Luis Rengifo singled in fourth for the Angels’ first hit. Rengifo then stole second and scored on Calhoun’s single, ending Waldron’s streak of 13 consecutive scoreless innings through three starts.
Jurickson Profar came in sixth and tried to score first on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s double to left field, but he got out on base on shortstop Neto’s relay throw.
Neto also made a sharp relay throw in the second inning to catch Ha-Seong Kim when he tried to turn a double into a triple.
San Diego put two runners on in the seventh to chase Anderson, but Strickland got pinch-hitter David Peralta to fly out to the warning track.
The Padres had two runners on and one out in the eighth, but Strickland escaped that jam as well.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: MLB hitting leader Luis Arraez is out for a day after hitting his right shoulder and neck on a slide. Shildt wasn’t sure if Arraez would play on Tuesday.
Angels: 1B Nolan Schanuel returned from a three-game absence with a sore left thumb. … INF Brandon Drury (hamstring) picked up the ground and hit the field. He has been away since May 8 but hopes to return next week.
NEXT
RHP Adam Mazur makes his big league debut for the Padres against Los Angeles LHP Patrick Sandoval (2-8, 5.34 ERA). Mazur was a second-round draft pick out of Iowa in 2022 and started this season impressively at Double-A San Antonio before showing some inconsistency in four starts at Triple-A El Paso.
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