It has been more than two months since the Los Angeles Angels last enjoyed an above-.500 record.
The Angels will take another swing at moving over the break-even point when they conclude a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon at Anaheim, Calif.
Los Angeles was last above .500 on April 20 with an 11-10 record but plunged downward and bottomed out at eight games below the mark on May 14.
The Angels reached .500 twice in the past five-plus weeks – at 25-25 and 40-40 – but were unable to climb over the barrier.
The Nationals, meanwhile, have lost 16 of 20 games as they enter the finale of a nine-game Southern California road trip. They are 3-5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Angels on the excursion.
The Angels exploded for a six-run seventh inning in Saturday’s 8-2 victory over the Nationals. The bounce-back win came after Washington notched a 15-9 triumph on Friday.
Mike Trout hit a tying homer in the seventh and No. 9 hitter Kevin Newman belted a go-ahead three-run blast.
“I think that just to come through in a situation, to help give us some extra runs in a tight game, is what’s most important,” Newman said after his first homer with the Angels. “I think that just resulting in a win is the biggest takeaway.”
Trout’s blast was his 391st with the Angels and that round number of 400 is definitely on his mind.
“I knew that coming into the season that I had a chance to reach it, so it’s pretty special and it would be cool,” Trout said.
Trout has 13 homers this season and Saturday’s blast was just his fourth in 27 games since he returned from a knee injury.
“He’s capable of changing the game every time he’s in it, and every time he’s at the plate,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said of Trout.
Washington led 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh before the Angels sent 12 men to the plate and scored six runs.
The bullpen was beleaguered and there wasn’t a full arsenal for Nationals manager Davey Martinez to count on.
“We were one pitch away from getting out of that inning, and it just didn’t happen,” Martinez said, referring to Newman’s homer on a 2-2 slider. “But these guys have to pitch. I say it all the time: We’ve got some guys down there that pitch high leverage. They can’t pitch every day.”
CJ Abrams homered for Washington’s lone run off Angels starter Kyle Hendricks.
“CJ made some adjustments — big home run to (left)-center field,” Martinez said.
Washington will send left-hander Mitchell Parker (5-8, 4.59 ERA) to the mound on Sunday against Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-8, 5.49).
Parker, 25, halted a five-start losing streak by beating the San Diego Padres on Monday. He allowed three runs and six hits over six innings.
Parker has given up three or fewer earned runs in five of his past seven starts.
Parker faced the Angels last season as a rookie and received a no-decision. He allowed two unearned runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings, serving up a two-run blast to Jo Adell.
Kochanowicz is 0-3 with a 6.68 ERA in seven starts since last winning on May 16 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He received a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox on Monday when he gave up four runs and six hits over five innings.
Kochanowicz, 24, picked up his first major league win against the Nationals last August when he pitched 7 2/3 innings, still a career-long. He allowed two runs and six hits and served up a solo shot to Washington’s Jacob Young.
–Field Level Media
