BALTIMORE — Cedric Mullins and Gary Sánchez hit back-to-back home runs to give Baltimore the lead and Félix Bautista finished off the Orioles’ 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday with his second straight save.
Mullins hit his 11th home run, a two-run shot off Angels starter Tyler Anderson in the sixth inning, and Sánchez hit his first homer with the Orioles for a 6-4 lead. Mullins has been involved in three of the Orioles’ six back-to-back homers this season.
Bautista topped 100 mph for the first time since 2023 on a fastball to Mike Trout before the Angels slugger flied to right field for the second out in the ninth. Bautista walked Taylor Ward before striking out Logan O’Hoppe on the ninth pitch of the at-bat and his 22nd pitch in the inning. Bautista has 14 saves in 15 opportunities.
Trout homered high off the foul pole in left field after Zach Neto drew a leadoff walk from Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano to give the Angels a 2-0 lead in the first. It was his 11th home run this season and the 389th of his career.
L.A.’s Luis Rengifo hit solo homers from both sides of the plate for the third time in his career after entering with just one on the season. He homered off lefty Keegan Akin to give the Angels a 4-3 lead in the sixth and again off right-hander Andrew Kittredge in the eighth to cut it to 6-5.
Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg had RBI singles in the third to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
Anderson (2-4) allowed six runs on nine hits in five innings. He is 0-4 in 10 starts since beating the Giants on April 18.
Sugano gave up three runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Akin (2-0) got four outs, including the final one in the fifth with the bases loaded to keep it tied 3-3.
Baltimore rookie Coby Mayo had his first multi-hit game, going two for four with a double for his first extra-base hit at home.
Up next
Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (2-5, 2.92) will try to prevent a sweep when he starts Sunday’s series finale against Orioles LHP Cade Povich (1-5, 5.46).
The winter wails of “Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?” pretty much established the Dodgers as the team other major league owners love to hate. If there is one thing most owners love more than winning, it is cost control. That is why they covet a salary cap.
The team other owners love? It might just be the Angels.
For owners, costs go beyond the salaries of major league players. In 2021, Major League Baseball eliminated 43 minor league teams affiliated with MLB organizations. Why, owners wondered, should we continue to pay two dozen entry-level players to fill out a roster when only two of them might be legitimate prospects?
And what could be more efficient than turning over player development to colleges? The NFL has no minor league. The NBA has one. Even after those 2021 cuts, MLB teams remain affiliated with 14 minor leagues.
That brings us to the Angels. In football and basketball, a first-round draft pick almost always goes from college one year to the NFL and the NBA the next. In baseball, even a first-round draft pick can spend several years in the minor leagues.
The Angels just called up second baseman Christian Moore, who could make his major league debut Friday in Baltimore, and pitcher Sam Bachman. That means the Angels’ roster now includes eight of their first-round picks — including each of their past five, all 25 or younger.
None of them spent even 100 games in the minor leagues, and almost all of that limited time was spent at the highest levels of the minors. This time last year, Moore was preparing for the College World Series with eventual national champion Tennessee. The Angels gave him 20 games at triple-A Salt Lake, in which he hit .350 with a .999 OPS, and summoned him to the majors.
Of the nine players likely to take the field for the Angels on Friday, the team drafted six in the first round: Moore (2024), first baseman Nolan Schanuel (2023), shortstop Zach Neto (2022), and outfielders Jo Adell (2017), Taylor Ward (2015) and Mike Trout (2009). The bullpen would include Bachman (2021) and Reid Detmers (2020).
Angels shortstop Zach Neto walks through the dugout during a game against the Miami Marlins on May 24.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
This is not the only way to win. None of the Dodgers’ past five top draft picks are even in the major leagues, and the team’s current roster includes only two Dodgers’ first-round draft picks: catcher Will Smith (2016) and pitcher Clayton Kershaw (2006).
No matter, of course, because the team’s current roster also includes Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Total cost for that quartet: $1.6 billion. Total signing bonuses for the eight Angels first-round picks: $30 million.
And there is no evidence to show what we might call the Angels Way — drafting polished college stars capable of getting to the majors in a hurry — is a way to win. The Angels are trying to rebuild without investing heavily in scouting and player development. They have not posted a winning season in 10 years.
As the Angels open play Friday, they are one game under .500. They played .360 ball in April and .500 ball in May, and they have played .700 ball so far in June. They are 4 ½ games out of first place in what appears to be baseball’s weakest division, the American League West.
What the Angels are trying means you absolutely cannot miss on your top draft picks. Although each of their first-rounders this decade now has made the majors, to this point only Neto has displayed star potential. It’s still early, of course, and a team that learned that Ohtani and Trout alone cannot deliver October is hoping to develop a broader base of talent.
The Angels will try again in a few weeks. They have the second overall pick in the July draft. They could aim to fill their Anthony Rendon-sized third-base hole with Oregon State’s Aiva Arquette. On Thursday, prospect analyst Keith Law of The Athletic projected the Angels would take Tennessee left-hander Liam Doyle.
“Everyone expects the Angels to take Doyle or (LSU left-hander) Kade Anderson,” Law wrote, “and then put whoever they select in the majors before the ink is dry on the contract.”
That would make nine first-rounders on the major league roster. That, certainly, would be efficient. Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement start next year, and the Angels Way could embolden owners to eliminate even more minor league teams.
The fans might be rooting for the star-studded Dodgers. The cost-conscious owners are rooting for the Angels.
Yusei Kikuchi took a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning and Jo Adell homered and drove in three runs to help the Angels beat the Athletics 7-4 on Monday night.
Mike Trout had two RBIs for the Angels, who shook off the latest incredible catch by Athletics rookie Denzel Clarke in center field.
Kikuchi (2-5) yielded just a one-out single to Max Muncy in the fifth and exited after striking out Nick Kurtz with his 104th pitch to begin the eighth. The left-hander struck out five and walked one in a brilliant outing.
Muncy and pinch-hitter JJ Bleday homered late for the Athletics.
Clarke continued to dazzle with his glove, climbing the wall and hanging from the top to rob Nolan Schanuel of a solo homer in the first. Clarke ran full speed into the fence to make a courageous catch against the Orioles last week.
Zach Neto, Schanuel and Trout provided three straight RBI singles off Jeffrey Springs (5-5) to give the Angels a 3-0 lead in the third. Springs entered after Grant Holman opened with a scoreless inning.
Adell hit his 12th home run — a solo shot off Springs in the fourth for a 4-0 lead — and followed a sacrifice fly by Trout in the eighth with a two-run single for a 7-2 advantage.
Muncy hit his fourth home run — a two-run shot off Shaun Anderson in the ninth.
Connor Brogdon gave up a single to Luis Urías after replacing Kikuchi, and Bleday followed with his seventh homer to make it 4-2. Ryan Zeferjahn got the final two outs in the eighth.
Jacob Wilson went 0 for 4 for the Athletics, ending his run of five straight games with multiple hits.
Key moment: The three straight singles by Neto, Schanuel and Trout off Springs came after Holman retired them in order in the first.
Key stat: The Angels outscored the Athletics 31-18 in winning all four games May 19-22 at Sutter Health Park — the A’s temporary home.
Up next: RHP José Soriano (4-5, 4.11 ERA) starts for the Angels on Tuesday. The Athletics hadn’t announced a scheduled starter.
Ron Washington took a page out of the characterized version of himself from the 2011 film “Moneyball” when asked about how difficult it would be to revive the Angels’ sputtering offense.
“It’s hard,” the Angels manager said Friday. “It’s very hard.”
His response probably sounds familiar to “Moneyball” fans. In the film, the version of Washington, played by actor Brett Jennings, visits Scott Hatteberg — portrayed by Chris Pratt — at his home. Billy Beane — played by Brad Pitt — and Washington try to sell Hatteberg, a free-agent catcher with the yips, on playing first base.
“You don’t know how to play first base,” Beane says.
“That’s right,” Hatteberg replies.
“It’s not that hard, Scott. Tell em, Wash,” Beane quips.
“It’s incredibly hard,” Washington responds.
Finding ways to improve the Angels’ productivity at the plate could prove even more daunting. They have the second-most strikeouts (622) and second-fewest walks (163) in MLB. Washington understands it’s a problem, but acknowledges the solution isn’t easily attainable.
“Adjustments is something in the game of baseball that’s never ending, so we just got to keep making adjustments,” Washington said. “That’s it. If I knew, if anybody knew the adjustment to make to get an offense going, you would never see offense putter. That’s baseball. You just got to keep adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting, adjusting, readjusting.”
The Angels held the third-worst batting average (.229) and fourth-worst on-base percentage (.301) in MLB a year ago. Three months into the 2025 season, they’ve regressed. The team’s batting average stands at .225 heading into Monday and the team’s on-base percentage is considerably lower over last year at .287.
During the Angels’ eight-game winning streak in May, it seemed as if hitting coach Johnny Washington — in his second year with the team — discovered something to help the offense click. They tallied a .291 batting average and averaged almost eight runs a game.
The Angels then lost five consecutive games and entered Monday having lost nine of their last 14.
“I think it’s come down to guys just continuing the process with trying to simplify guys’ approaches, keeping it with their strengths, giving these guys the best chance to succeed versus a given pitcher, and continue the game plan,” Johnny Washington said. “Been doing it all year. There are some youth, but there’s a ton of growth taking place. I know it hasn’t been pretty at certain times, but it’s a great group.”
Angels manager Ron Washington talks to Chris Taylor during a win over the Mariners on Friday.
(Eric Thayer / Associated Press)
In their last two series against Boston and Seattle, there were encouraging signs on offense. The Angels scored five or more runs in four of the six games, and cut down on their strikeout totals, with seven or fewer strikeouts coming in four games.
Chris Taylor, who struggled at the plate since signing with the team on May 26, began making hard contact — going two for three in two of three games against the Mariners, homering for the first time this season on Saturday.
Sunday, however, proved to be much different. In the Angels’ 3-2 loss to the Mariners, the lineup struck out a season-high 18 times.
“I think it’s kind of just like snapping out of it,” said first baseman Nolan Schanuel on Friday, a day after the Angels returned from a six-game trip in which they averaged more than five runs a game. “We had a good stretch, got cold for a little bit, and snapped out of it and started to hit again.”
Infielder Kevin Newman, who has a team-low .200 on-base percentage and a .186 batting average (minimum 50 at-bats) added: “We’re pretty streaky, probably more streaky than we’d like to be. We’d like to definitely find some consistency, especially here at home.”
It’s no coincidence that the Angels are finding a little more success at the plate with Mike Trout back in the lineup.
Activated off the injured list on May 30, Trout has played as if he wasn’t out for a month with a bone bruise in his knee. He hit .476 across six games against Cleveland and Boston and has gotten on base in nearly half of his at-bats this month (.429 on-base percentage). On June 2 against Boston, the 33-year-old carried the Angels to victory with a three-hit, three-RBI game — hitting his second home run since returning from injury.
“It’s good to be able to at least hit and contribute,” Trout said, adding that his time on the injured list over the last two seasons had been frustrating.
Trout’s impact isn’t lost on teammate Taylor Ward.
“Having Mike back is — I mean, unbelievable, right,” Ward said. “A guy that can carry the offense.”
Taylor Ward, right, is congratulated by Mike Trout, left, after hitting a two-run home run against the Mariners on Sunday.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Schanuel said he has watched Trout’s daily regimen closely since joining Angels two seasons ago. Ron Washington, who became the Angels’ manager last year, said he has marveled at how the three-time MVP prepares and trains. But even he was surprised at how quickly Trout began to contribute coming off injury.
“He still does things that other people on the baseball field can’t do,” Ron Washington said. “No doubt about it. You can get a 70% Mike Trout and it’d be 100% of a lot of players in this league. So hey, I was surprised, but then again, I’m not — because we are talking about Mike Trout.”
Even with Trout back, the Angels still have room for improvement. Although he’s hitting .241 with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs entering Monday, Logan O’Hoppe has walked just eight times, leading to a .273 on-base percentage. Luis Rengifo holds the second-lowest on-base percentage in the league at .242.
Will Trout’s return continue to rejuvenate the Angels’ offense and help them close the 5½-game gap to the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West? Time will tell.
“One of the greatest players of our generation,” Johnny Washington said about Trout. “He’s been a huge help to our offensive group, to us as coaches and as well to the players”
George Kirby struck out a career-high 14 during seven innings of two-hit ball, and the Seattle Mariners snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday.
Kirby (1-3) issued no walks while retiring both his first 11 and his final 10 batters. His strikeouts were the most by a Mariners pitcher since James Paxton had 16 in May 2018, and he matched Miami’s Max Meyer for the most strikeouts in a major league game this season.
Donovan Solano drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth, and Randy Arozarena had an early RBI double among his three hits as the Mariners avoided a series sweep with their fourth win in 14 games.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Halos, who struck out 18 times overall while losing for only the second time in six games.
Andrés Muñoz earned his 18th save, returning from a week off and rebounding from back-to-back blown save opportunities in which he allowed his first earned runs of the entire season.
Muñoz walked Jorge Soler leading off the ninth, but struck out Mike Trout to end it.
Tyler Anderson (2-3) yielded eight hits with six strikeouts while pitching into the fifth inning of his ninth consecutive winless appearance.
Arozarena hit a 345-foot single in the fifth when he failed to hustle out of the box, but he stole second and scored on Jorge Polanco’s two-out single. Solano added another RBI single to chase Anderson.
Key moment: Trout was the Angels’ first baserunner with a two-out single, and Ward immediately followed with his 18th homer. Kirby regrouped and struck out Chris Taylor with a perfect slider on the corner.
Key stat: Trout tied Rafael Palmeiro’s major league record of 435 total bases against Seattle before scoring his 145th run against the Mariners to tie Rickey Henderson for that career record.
Up next: Yusei Kikuchi (1-5, 3.23 ERA) takes the Big A mound Monday night against the Athletics. Emerson Hancock (2-2, 5.19) pitches for the Mariners at Arizona.
CLEVELAND — José Soriano threw six scoreless innings, Mike Trout had a hit in his return to the Angels’ lineup in a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Jo Adell had three hits and an RBI and Jorge Soler hit a solo homer down the left-field line in the ninth inning as the Angels snapped a five-game losing streak.
Cleveland’s José Ramírez had his 21-game hitting streak snapped. He drew a walk in the eighth inning to extend his on-base streak to 26 games.
The Guardians, who have dropped four of their last five, avoided a shutout on Nolan Jones’ RBI single to right with two outs in the ninth.
It was the third time this season Soriano (4-5) has gone at least six innings and not given up a run. The right-hander yielded just four hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
Trout, activated off the injured list after he missed 26 games due to a bone bruise on his left knee, lined out to Ramírez at third in his first at-bat before he lined a base hit to left-center in the fourth inning.
Adell singled to right with one out in the second to drive in Soler, who drew a walk off Luis Ortiz (2-6) to lead off the inning.
The Angels added a pair of runs in the seventh when Scott Kingery scored on a passed ball and Soler had a run-scoring single to center.
Key moment: The Guardians had the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth inning, but Soriano got Gabriel Arias to chase a 98-mph sinker for the strikeout.
Key stat: Trout went one for five and batted fifth as the designated hitter. It was the first time since Sept. 26, 2011, the three-time American League MVP started a game hitting lower than third.
Up next: RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-6, 5.23 ERA) goes for the Angels while RHP Slade Cecconi (1-1, 3.27 ERA) takes the mound for the Guardians.
It turns out the timeline was moved up one series and three days.
Trout was activated off the injured list before Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. The Angels slugger missed 26 games with soreness in his left knee eventually diagnosed as a bone bruise. The three-time American League MVP had two operations last year on the knee after tearing his meniscus.
“I’m just itching to get out there,” Trout said before the game. “I think came out of the other day (of running bases) good. I wasn’t too sore or anything, I told them I was good enough to go out there and have some good at-bats.”
Trout’s return comes with something he hasn’t done in his 15-year big league career. This will be the first time in 1,532 starts that he will be hitting fifth in the lineup.
The only other time Trout batted fifth in 1,547 previous games was on May 14, 2022, against the Athletics, when he entered in the fourth inning and finished the game in center field.
“We know where Mike Trout is in the order. It doesn’t matter where he is hitting, he could be hitting ninth,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It’s got to be a different feeling for sure for them. I mean, he’s been in the two or three hole for what, 12 years now? But he’s still a really good player.”
Manager Ron Washington is happy to have Trout back, especially since he noted Trout wasn’t aggressive in rushing back. Washington also knows that Trout isn’t ready to return to his normal spot batting second or third.
“He hasn’t seen anything. So when you look at what we have, that’s where he sits,” Washington said. “It doesn’t make sense for him to protect (Logan) O’Hoppe. So I’ll put Mike behind him to protect O’Hoppe. He’s not ready to be at the top of the lineup, especially with those guys up there. As we go along the next couple of days, he’s not going to remain fifth.”
The 33-year old Trout was hitting .179 with nine home runs, 18 RBIs and a .727 OPS in 29 games before the injury. He will be the designated hitter for the weekend series against the Guardians before possibly returning to right field when the Halos head to Boston on Monday for a three-game series.
Even though Trout has shied away from wanting to be the designated hitter, he has done well in that spot. In seven games this season, he is eight for 28 (.286) with six home runs and nine RBIs.
Trout said whether or not he plays more games than originally planned at DH the remainder of the season is something that remains to be seen.
“Bone bruises are tricky. I know I am going to be sore but I can deal with it,” he said. “I definitely have to be cautious, especially the first couple games.”
Trout’s return comes with the Angels on a five-game skid after an eight-game winning streak that included a three-game sweep of the defending World Series champion Dodgers. Los Angeles were 25-30 going into Friday’s game.
“There’s so many games that any sense of newness or something to make you excited is something that you’d latch on to. So today is definitely a moment like that,” O’Hoppe said about Trout’s return. “He’s the heart of this organization. So we’re happy to have our heart beating again for sure.”
Trout has missed 404 of the Angels’ 664 games — almost 61% — since May 17, 2021, when he tore his calf muscle against Cleveland and was sidelined for the rest of that season. This is the fifth straight year he has had a stint of at least 25 games on the IL.
He missed five weeks of the 2022 season with a back injury, and all but one game after July 3 in 2023 after he broke a bone in his hand on a foul ball. Trout played in 29 games last season before the meniscus injury.
