Calhoun, Peralta power Diamondbacks past Angels again, 9-6
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Kole Calhoun hit his third homer in two games against his former Angels teammates, and David Peralta homered and drove in two runs in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 9-6 victory over Los Angeles on the night of Sept. 16.
Calhoun connected for a two-run shot in the seventh after homering twice on the night of Sept. 15 in his first game back at Angel Stadium, where he spent eight seasons as the Angels’ right fielder before leaving last winter. Calhoun went 2 for 5, giving him five hits and seven RBIs in two games against his old teammates.
Peralta followed Calhoun’s shot with a homer in his second straight game while getting three hits for the Diamondbacks, who have won four of six after scoring nine runs apiece in back-to-back games at the Big A.
“This is what we should have been doing,” Peralta said. “This is the type of offense we are. We need to finish strong, learn from this season and move forward. But it’s been fun, the past few days, the way we’ve been doing our thing and our business.”
Nick Ahmed had a two-run single during Arizona’s four-run second inning against Dylan Bundy (5-3), who had the shortest start of his outstanding season for the Angels. The right-hander yielded five earned runs on six hits and two walks while getting chased in the third.
“We did a lot of things right inside this game,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “Obviously from an offensive standpoint, we just kept piling up the hits. The baserunners and then the runs followed.”
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Max Stassi, Jared Walsh and Justin Upton homered for the Angels, who have lost two straight at home after an 8-3 surge briefly invited hopes of playoff contention.
While the Houston Astros continue to hold open the door for second place in the AL West by losing 10 of 13, the Angels haven’t been able to walk through it, let alone get past Seattle in between.
“It’s frustrating for everybody, but we’ve got to keep pounding on the door,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Of course, the opportunities are slipping quickly.”
Mike Trout had an RBI double for the Angels (20-30), who officially have five consecutive non-winning seasons for the first time since 1994. One more loss will clinch five straight losing seasons for the Halos for the first time since 1977.
“We did a lot of good things, had a lot of well-struck balls for outs again,” Maddon said. “Dylan had a bad day. It really comes down to that. From what we’d seen this year, I really anticipated him going deeper into this game.”
After Caleb Smith started with two innings in his second appearance for Arizona, Taylor Clarke (2-0) took over and yielded six hits and four runs over five innings. Stefan Crichton pitched the ninth for his third save, including two straight in Anaheim.
Peralta hit the tiebreaking eighth-inning homer in Tuesday night’s victory, and he drove in Arizona’s first run against Bundy with a single in the second.
Bundy gave up no extra-base hits, but said control problems led to him getting “singled to death.”
WALSH’S ROLL
Walsh smashed a single through the shift in the first inning, and he connected in the fifth for his sixth homer in seven games. The first baseman is batting 16 for 34 (.471) during his eight-game hitting streak.
Maddon praised Walsh’s “electric hands. ... I don’t think it’s a fluke. I think this is how he’s capable of hitting.”
SHOHEI SHELVED
Shohei Ohtani was out of the Angels’ starting lineup for the fourth straight game. Ohtani is batting .189 with five homers and 20 RBIs this season, and Maddon says they don’t have time for the two-way star to hit his way out of a slump.
“I really anticipate a good result when he gets back out there,” Maddon said. “We’re playing the long game here. He’s going to be just fine, but for right now, in this little bubble that we’re in, we’re trying to get to the playoffs.”
Albert Pujols, who’s batting .222, went 0 for 4 in Ohtani’s place as the Angels’ designated hitter. Right fielder Jo Adell went 0 for 4, extending his slump to 0 for 24 with 13 strikeouts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Reliever Merrill Kelly should be able to return at full strength next spring. Kelly needed thoracic outlet surgery after a blood clot in his shoulder was removed.
Angels: INF Franklin Barreto is still feeling pain from his dislocated shoulder, and he could need surgery. He played only six games after Los Angeles acquired him from Oakland. ... The Angels optioned Matt Thaiss and recalled LHP Patrick Sandoval, who pitched four innings of relief while allowing four hits and three runs.
UP NEXT
Griffin Canning (0-3, 4.57 ERA) takes his 10th shot at his first victory of the season for the Angels in the series finale against Alex Young (2-3, 4.42 ERA) and the Diamondbacks.
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