ANAHEIM, California – Brenton Doyle capped an impressive July with a stunning eighth-inning home run, Ezequiel Tovar extended his hitting streak to 17 games, and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Wednesday night, snapping a five-game streak. consecutive defeats.
Logan O’Hoppe hit a solo shot in the fifth inning for the Angels, who are 2-4 in their current homeland.
Doyle, who missed Tuesday’s game with a bruised right index finger, hit a slider from Hans Crouse (4-2) that sailed 431 feet into the left-field stands, beyond the bullpens, to put the Rockies up. back to the top.
“I know that guy is kind of heavy. I just wanted something a little elevated and something I could handle,” Doyle said.
It was Doyle’s 11th home run of July, tied with Oakland’s Brent Rooker for most in the majors, and it was his MLB-leading 19th extra-base hit.
Doyle’s batting average of .337 (29 for 86) during the month was third in the NL. He led the NL in hitting (.791) and OPS (1.191).
It’s a huge turnaround for Doyle, who hit .223 in June and was mired in a 5-for-40 slump in early July.
“These low points in the season open your eyes and tell you that you have to work on something. I’m grateful that this sequence happened because if it didn’t, I might not be where I am now,” Doyle said.
Rockies manager Bud Black said he expects Doyle to be NL Player of the Month after becoming the first Rockies player to have double-digit home runs in July since Carlos Gonzalez in 2015.
“He deserves it,” Black said. “It’s a great sign of stability and self-confidence that you have to keep going and keep the faith and know that your talent will get you out (of a crisis).”
Kyle Freeland (3-4) won for the third time in his last four starts and tied a season-high in seven innings. The left-hander allowed one run and six hits and struck out six.
Victor Vodnik retired the Angels in the ninth for his fourth save in six opportunities.
Tovar got the Rockies’ first hit with a base hit to left field in the first inning. He advanced to second when Ryan McMahon drew a walk with two outs and scored on Kris Bryant’s RBI single to left field.
Freeland allowed just two hits and faced the minimum through four innings before O’Hoppe lined a lofted single over the wall and off the auxiliary message board in right field to tie it at 1-all in the fifth inning.
It was O’Hoppe’s 15th home run, which is third among major league catchers.
Angels starter Davis Daniel was solid. In his first big league start since July 8, the right-hander allowed one run and five hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Daniel was sent to Triple-A Salt Lake when he gave up 12 runs (11 earned) in two starts after throwing eight shutout innings in his first MLB start on June 27 against Detroit.
“He got us off to a great start,” coach Ron Washington said of Daniel. “The thing is, we couldn’t support him with more runs than the one we got from O’Hoppe.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: OF Nolan Jones (lumbar strain) went 0-for-1 and walked three times in his second rehab game for Single-A Fresno.
Angels: 3B Luis Rengifo felt something explode in his right wrist during an eighth-inning at-bat. Washington said they will see how Rengifo feels on Thursday before making a decision.
NEXT
The finale of the three-game series. Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-10, 4.99 ERA) is one of three pitchers in the majors with an ERA below 5.00 and at least 10 losses. Angels RHP Carson Fulmer (0-2, 3.77 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season.
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