Zach Neto's 4-RBI game leads Angels over Rangers

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Zach Neto provided three hits and four RBI's as the Angels leaned on the bottom of their lineup and avoid a series sweep by the Rangers with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday night.

Mickey Moniak added two hits, including a massive three-run home-run in the second inning and reliever Hans Crouse earned his first MLB win as the Angels got their first win of the homestand. 

Here are three takeaways:

Neto's big night

Zach Neto has been great for the Angels all season and he proved his value again, coming up with two big RBI's early in the game before hitting  a home run in the eighth inning. His second-inning single provided a a 1-0 lead and his RBI double in the third continued to put pressure on the Rangers.

The Angels pitching staff ran into some trouble in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively. A 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the 8th inning may have seemed safe with the way Carlos Estevez has been pitching recently, but those extra two runs took off the Angels.

Neto was given a day off Monday after two weeks of limited production and it seems to have helped. He has five hits over his last eight at-bats and is hitting .250 with 12 home-runs, 14 stolen bases, and an OPS of .729. 

Angels manager Ron Washington said Neto needed the break.

"I think it served him well" Washington said. "He got a chance to sit back and think about some things. He gave us that big home run.

"I keep trying to tell him he's not failing, he's just dealing with adversity". 

Neto's production is crucial to the Angels' long-term success considering he is a cornerstone player they are building around. 

Moniak breaks out 

Moniak is hitting .198 this season with an OPS of .567, but he was instrumental in the Angels win. He hit a three-run home run in the second inning and gave the Angels an early 4-0 lead. 

Moniak also scorched a single to right field in the eighth inning to give him a two-hit day. 

Washington stressed the importance of Moniak building off this performance: 

“The night he had tonight, he’s gotta be able to come back tomorrow and build off that," he said. "When you find it, you have to lock it in." 

Moniak has been locked in before at the MLB level. Last year that he was garnering All-Star votes after a brilliant April and May, when he was slugging .670 with an OPS over 1.000. I

Despite a horrible end to 2023 when he hit .225 over the final two months, Moniak finished last season with a .280 average, 14 home runs, and an .802 OPS in 311 at-bats.

 Moniak was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft for a reason and he knows that the hitter from last year is still in him.

“I’m a perfectionist" he said. "There’s people that want me to play better. I want to play better. There is no harsher critic than myself.

"I know I can be better. I proved that last year. Today was a good step in the right direction." 

Crouse dominates in first win 

Crouse was a second-round pick by the Rangers in 2017 out of Dana Hills High School, just 35 minutes from Angel Stadium. On Wednesday night, he came into a big situation against the team for which he had spent 4 1/2  years playing in the minors playing.

Griffin Canning had a disaster of a fifth inning, giving a two-run home-run to Leody Taveras before allowing three more base runners to reach and getting pulled from of the game. 

Washington then called on the rookie Crouse, who to struck out Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia to get out of the bases-loaded jam. Crouse then pitched a clean sixth inning.

“Feels good (to get my first MLB win)," Crouse said. "Real cool feeling for me that it came at home.

"Being from here and my grandpa being in the stands made it even more special."

Crouse boasts an ERA of 0.84 in 10.2 innings since he was called up last month. The secret to Crouse's success has been keeping it simple.

“The best hitters get out seven out of 10 times, so why can’t one of those seven times be against me," he said. "That’s what I tell myself”. 

In a season filled with disappointment for the Angels, Crouse has been one of the bright spots he will continue to get his name called in big situations. 

The Angels begin a series against the Mariners at 6:30 p.m. Thursday with Jack Kochanowicz set to make his big-league debut against right-hander Luis Castillo (7-2, 3.72 ERA).