Mike Trout home run can’t save Angels from loss to Arizona
PHOENIX — Pavin Smith hit a tiebreaking, solo homer off the right-field foul pole, Ryne Nelson threw seven quality innings, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Angels 4-3 on Monday night.
Smith broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh when he launched his first homer in nearly a calendar year. The veteran first baseman — who came into the game with a .103 batting average — has spent most of this season on the injured list after surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow.
Geraldo Perdomo added an RBI double later in the seventh that made it 4-2. Paul Sewald gave up a solo homer to Donovan Walton with two outs in the ninth but struck out Oswald Peraza to earn his 18th save in 19 chances.
Nelson (3-5) gave up two runs, scattering nine hits and striking out five. The right-hander has thrown at least seven innings in five of his last seven starts.
Angels slugger Mike Trout hit his 16th homer, an opposite-field shot, to tie the score 2-2 in the fifth. It was the three-time MVP’s 420th career home run.
Walbert Ureña (4-5) threw seven innings for the Angels, giving up four runs (three earned).
The Angels (29-44) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on Jo Adell’s double down the right-field line that brought home Trout. The Diamondbacks (37-35) tied it in the bottom half on Gabriel Moreno’s single.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned to Arizona’s lineup after missing roughly three weeks because of a strained left hamstring. He had an RBI single in the fourth.
Up next: The Diamondbacks throw RHP Merrill Kelly (5-5, 5.46 ERA), while the Angels counter with LHP Reid Detmers (2-5, 4.00) on Tuesday.