Moncada's blast fuels Angels to comeback victory over A's

SACRAMENTO -- Earning a season-high fifth consecutive victory, the Los Angeles Angels downed the Athletics, 7-5, on Tuesday night at Sutter Health Park. The Angels are now 22-25 and 13-15 on the road.

After falling behind 4-1 through the first four innings, a clutch game-tying blast from Yoan Moncada in the top of the fifth made it a brand new ballgame.

It was the second home run allowed on the evening by Athletics' starter Gunnar Hoglund, who also allowed a solo shot to Logan O'Hoppe in the fourth. The right-hander was pulled before he could record another out, exiting with six hits and ultimately five runs conceded.

O'Hoppe also delivered a big hit in the frame, following up Taylor Ward's two-out double with an RBI single to give the Angels their first lead at 5-4. Now having recorded an extra-base hit in six consecutive games, it is a new record for the longest such streak of Ward's career. It was a four-run fifth that got starter Kyle Hendricks off the hook, who had just allowed three runs in the home side of the fourth inning. 

The 35-year-old allowed nine hits total across his 5 2/3 frames of work, including a pair of home runs from Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz that put the Athletics out in front 4-1. In his three innings prior, Hendricks had allowed just one run as he navigated around four hits. 

Despite the shaky start, the 12-year veteran picked up his second victory of the month to improve to 2-5. Away games have been an area of struggle for Hendricks, who has now allowed 18 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings throughout road starts. 

Coming through with their second solid performance of the series, the Angels' bullpen was able to shut down the lineup of the Athletics. Reid Detmers, Hunter Strickland and Brock Burke combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innnings, allowing just one hit preserving the slim 5-4 lead.

Strickland, who initially opened 2025 in the minor leagues with the Texas Rangers, but was ultimately released after allowing 14 earned runs in 12 appearances. The Angels selected from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday, allowing him to throw his first big-league inning of the year on Tuesday evening.

In 2024, the right-hander had worked to a respectable 3.31 ERA over 73 1/3 innings out of the bullpen for Los Angeles. Now, he will look to return to the same form after reuniting with his old squad.

The ninth inning saw Zach Neto and Taylor Ward add on some much-needed insurance to help the Angels put the game out of reach. Neto smacked an RBI double to left that scored Kyren Paris, making it 21 of the last 24 games that he has hit safelt in. The shortstop is also hitting .306 in that span with eight doubles and 13 RBI.

Taylor Ward added on another run to make it 7-4 as he stepped up with the bases loaded and nobody out, dropping a fly ball into shallow right that resulted in a forceout at second base.

Kenley Jansen took the mound in the bottom of the ninth, earning his 10th save despite allowing a two-out RBI single to Seth Brown that made it 7-5. Jansen is has now converted all ten save opportunities he's had this season, becoming just the fourth pitcher in MLB history to record ten or more saves in at least 14 consecutive seasons.

The 37-year-old joins the elite company of Mariano Rivera, John Franco and Lee Smith.

Los Angeles has now taken the first two of four against the Athletics to improve to 6-2 on their current 10-game road trip. They will look to secure the series victory on Wednesday evening. Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-5, 4.71 ERA) will get the start against Athletics' left-hander JP Sears (4-3, 3.31 ERA). 

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT.