Tyler Anderson pitched into the seventh and Willie Calhoun had an early RBI single for the Angels, who snapped their five-game losing streak. Calhoun had two of the Angels’ four hits as they improved the worst home record in the majors to 8-21 in the opener of a six-game homestand.
Adell led off the eighth with a double off the right-field wall against Adrian Morejon (1-1). Adell moved to third on Zach Neto’s flyout and scored easily on pinch-hitter Luis Guillorme’s long sacrifice fly to center off Jeremiah Estrada.
Manny Machado homered for the Padres, who lost their second straight after a 5-1 surge. San Diego’s powerful lineup failed to score after the first inning and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
Hunter Strickland (2-1) escaped two jams before Angels closer Carlo Estévez finished for his ninth save.
Both starting pitchers excelled in the opener of a series between interleague rivals.
Matt Waldron allowed two hits and struck out four over 6 1/3 innings in another strong start for San Diego. The part-time knuckleballer has pitched into the seventh inning for the first two times in his career in his past two starts.
Anderson allowed five hits and three walks for the Angels. He has permitted exactly one run in each of his past four starts, totaling 26 2/3 innings.
Machado hit a 438-foot drive off the fake rock pile beyond center field in the first inning for his sixth homer of the season.
Luis Rengifo singled in the fourth for the Angels’ first hit. Rengifo then stole second and scored on Calhoun’s single off a knuckleball, ending Waldron’s streak of 13 straight scoreless innings over three starts.
Jurickson Profar walked in the sixth and attempted to score from first on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s double to left, but was out at the plate on Neto’s relay throw from shortstop.
San Diego got two runners on in the seventh to chase Anderson, but Strickland got pinch-hitter David Peralta to fly out to the warning track.
The Padres had two more runners on with one out in the eighth, but Strickland also escaped that jam.
Injury update: Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel returned from a three-game absence with a sore left thumb. … Infielder Brandon Drury (hamstring) took grounders and hit on the field. He has been out since May 8 but hopes to return next week.
Up next: Right-hander Adam Mazur makes his big league debut for the Padres against Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval (2-8, 5.34 ERA). Mazur was a second-round draft pick out of Iowa in 2022, and he started this season impressively at double-A San Antonio before showing some inconsistency over four starts with triple-A El Paso.