Halos slam 3 HRs, Little League one to top Sox

ANAHEIM -- Traditional home runs from Kole Calhoun, Ian Kinsler and Francisco Arcia and a Little League homer from Andrelton Simmons paved the way for the Angels' 12-8 win over the White Sox in Thursday afternoon's series finale at Angel Stadium, securing a split of the four-game series and moving the Halos back to .500.
Simmons drove in two runs and scored himself with the help of a pair of defensive miscues from the White Sox to give the Angels a 6-2 lead in the fifth, but Chicago launched three solo home runs in the seventh to close the gap and chase right-hander Nick Tropeano.
Still, the Angels (52-52) regained some breathing room on Arcia's first MLB hit, a three-run homer off Juan Minaya that pushed the club's lead to 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh. Arcia, 28, spent 12 years in the Minors before receiving his first big league callup on Thursday after Martín Maldonado was traded to the Astros. Arcia added an RBI single in the eighth to cap a three-run inning, becoming the first Angel to drive in four runs in his MLB debut.

"Amazing," Arcia said. "Great moment. I waited too long for this. After those 12 years in the Minor Leagues, when they called me last night, it was the best moment of my life. I cried. I feel great. I put in the work to get here, and now I saw it pay off. ... I always fought for this moment, and I'm glad I made it now. I feel so proud of myself."
Arcia said he couldn't sleep after receiving the news on Wednesday and took a 6 a.m. flight to Southern California on Thursday morning. Shortly after arriving at Angel Stadium, Arcia learned he would be in the starting lineup against the White Sox.

"It's awesome, man," left fielder Justin Upton said. "To grind that long in the Minor Leagues and get that opportunity to get here, he took full advantage of it. He was excited to be out there."
The Angels banged out 16 hits, including a season-high nine for extra bases, to post double digits in the run column for the second consecutive game. Upton went for 4-for-5 with two RBIs, while Kinsler finished 3-for-4 and drove in another pair of runs.

"Hopefully, we're getting some guys doing what they can do," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Ian Kinsler is looking like the Ian Kinsler that played against us [with the Rangers] for all those years. He's comfortable now. He's swinging the bat very well for us, Andrelton is back slashing with guys on base and getting RBIs. Mike [Trout] is Mike. Justin had a great day today. Offensively, we're going to need it, for sure."
Tropeano yielded five runs on five hits -- all solo home runs -- while walking two and striking out seven over 6 1/3 innings in his second start since returning from the disabled list. He is the first American League pitcher to earn a win despite giving up at least five home runs in a game since the Red Sox's Tim Wakefield on Aug. 8, 2004.
"That's a frustrating outing for me," Tropeano said. "You give up five hits and they all go for home runs. Obviously, the hitters picked me up tremendously today. Same thing with the bullpen. I felt good out there today. That's the scary thing about it. I made five mistakes, and they all went for home runs."
After José Abreu and Calhoun traded solo home runs in the first inning, Tropeano surrendered a homer to Daniel Palka that briefly gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead in the second. The Angels tied it after Calhoun doubled and scored on Upton's RBI single in the third and then went ahead, 3-2, on Kinsler's homer in the fourth.

The Angels added three more runs in the fifth after Simmons managed to round the bases without hitting the ball out of the park. After Albert Pujols and Upton singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, Simmons lined an 0-2 slider from right-hander Dylan Covey into the left-center-field gap. Chicago center fielder Leury García attempted to cut it off, but the ball got past him and rolled all the way to the warning track, allowing Upton and Pujols to score and Simmons to cruise into third for a triple.
Garcia eventually fielded the ball and threw to cutoff man Tim Anderson, whose relay throw sailed wide of catcher Kevan Smith and opened the door for Simmons to trot home.

UP NEXT
The Angels close out their 10-game homestand by hosting the Mariners in a three-game series beginning Friday night at 7:07 p.m. PT at Angel Stadium. Left-handers Andrew Heaney (6-6, 3.66 ERA) and Wade LeBlanc (6-1, 3.44 ERA) face off in the series opener. Heaney picked up his sixth win of the season on Sunday after giving up one run over six innings against the Astros. He is 6-1 with a 1.33 ERA in his past eight home outings.