Big second inning triggers offensive explosion for Angels to avoid sweep

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Los Angeles Angels were in need of a big effort to avoid a sweep against the Colorado Rockies and they especially needed to flush the sting of their Tuesday night loss away, and they say the best medicine is a lot of hits. 

The entire lineup answered the call as the the Angels put together 16 hits to score runs, with six different players grabbing at least one RBI on the day. Angels manager Kurt Suzuki gave credit to more disciplined approach team-wide as to why the Angels were hitting so well.

"I think it was quality at bats, in the sense of moving the ball forward, battling with two strikes and using the big part of the field," Suzuki said. "Everybody's not just trying to hook everything. I feel like we used the whole field... Take your base hits, move runners over, get runners in. It was impressive by the guys."

Second inning fireworks

Everything started in the second inning when the Angels put together six runs.

While they created their own luck with a parade of hits, the Los Angeles effort was aided by two wild pitches from Colorado starter Michael Lorenzen and a throwing error on left fielder Sterlin Thompson that not only allowed a run to score, but kept the runners advancing around the bases. 

Such a huge second inning gave Angels starter Walbert Ureña plenty of room to work with as he looked to improve on his stellar month of May.

"I feel more comfortable on the mound, so just trying to attack and I know we've got to win with those runs," Ureña said about the early inning offensive boost.

Ureña was sharp through the first three innings of the game, moving through the Rockies lineup without allowing a hit. 

Colorado got the better of him in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring three runs, including a two-run home run by Tyler Freeman. 

Although, the Angels' massive second inning meant that no matter how many hiccups Ureña had, the lead was safe. 

It didn't hurt that he bounced back with a sharp sixth inning either and ultimately finished the day with seven strikeouts. 

Grissom's big night

Amazingly, for all of the offense the Angels had, there was only one home run in the mix: a two-run shot by Vaughn Grissom in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Grissom finished the day with three RBI's and two runs scored and for someone who's struggled at home this season, a game like Wednesday's provides a huge boost.

"It's sick," Grissom said. "These are great fans and to be able to show out in front of them is all you want to do."

Los Angeles continued to pile on, scoring runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pad the lead. Having that kind of bounce-back performance after the overall disappointment of the series is a good sign for an Angels team that now has to travel up the freeway to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

"The last three games, including the last game in Tampa... definitely was tough. But, I think having a night like tonight where everything kind of clicked and everybody did their part... Got that good feeling going into the next series," Suzuki said.