Two innings, 10 runs: Halos' offense erupts for sweep of Cards

ST. LOUIS -- It was a total team effort offensively for the Angels on Thursday afternoon, as all nine of their hitters had at least one hit by the third inning to complete the sweep of the Cardinals.

The Angels scored four in the second and six in the third en route to an 11-7 win at Busch Stadium. It was the first sweep of the year for the Angels, who also extended their winning streak to a season-high four games, as they improved to four games over .500 for the first time this year, at 18-14.

The club’s 16 hits were also its most this year, which should give Los Angeles some momentum heading into a three-game set against the first-place Rangers, beginning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. The Halos are four games over .500 for the first time since June 1, 2022, when they held a 27-23 record.

“We were resilient, we played great,” manager Phil Nevin said. “Just quality at-bats. The one thing I was proud of was that as the lead increased, we kept taking quality at-bats and we kept the line moving.”

The Angels opened their road trip with two losses in Milwaukee before avoiding a series sweep with a victory on Sunday. They carried that into their series in St. Louis, sweeping the Cardinals for the first time in club history. And they did it while still giving rest to their superstars, as Shohei Ohtani was held out of the lineup in Tuesday’s win and Mike Trout was given a scheduled day off on Thursday.

There were some twists and turns to the finale, though.

The visitors shook off a first-inning miscue by right fielder Hunter Renfroe, who misread a hard liner from Willson Contreras with two outs, allowing the ball to fly over his head for what was ruled a two-run double surrendered by right-hander Griffin Canning.

But the Angels hit right-hander Jack Flaherty hard, as he gave up a career-high 10 runs on nine hits and one walk. And they did it mostly with singles, as Luis Rengifo provided the Halos’ only extra-base hit off Flaherty with a homer in the second.

Rengifo’s three-run shot, his second of the year, gave the Angels the lead after Matt Thaiss brought home a run with an RBI single. Thaiss, who went 3-for-5 on Thursday, has been one of the club’s hottest hitters since catcher Logan O'Hoppe suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder on April 20. Thaiss has hit .409 with a homer, two doubles and six RBIs in 10 games over that stretch.

“I’ve been feeling really good at the plate,” Thaiss said. “I have to keep looking for the right pitches to hit and make good decisions. And I’m just excited to be back behind the plate, working with pitchers. I feel more comfortable.”

The Angels sent 11 players to the plate as part of their six-run third.

Ohtani sparked the rally with a leadoff single that extended his hit streak to seven games. The Angels then loaded the bases with nobody out before Jake Lamb ripped a single, Taylor Ward brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and Thaiss singled to plate another.

Rengifo, who fell a triple short of the cycle and also made a nice play defensively to end the eighth, reached on an RBI single that hit Flaherty in the left hand and knocked him from the game with one out in the third. Brett Phillips followed with his first hit of the year, an RBI single to left, before Zach Neto plated two runs with a single to become the ninth Angels batter to record a hit.

“I felt really focused and I’m happy for the result today,” Rengifo said. “Everybody on the team did their job today. We’re going to try to continue that energy and try to win every day, that’s the goal.”

The early offense almost wasn’t enough, as Canning allowed five runs over five innings and lefty Aaron Loup surrendered two runs in the sixth. But relievers Chris Devenski, Tucker Davidson and Matt Moore combined to throw 3 1/3 scoreless innings to ensure a happy flight back home and a 4-2 road trip.

The Angels will head back to Anaheim for an important homestand against the Rangers and Astros.

“We know the division and where they stand and where we stand,” Thaiss said. “Obviously there's always a little more intensity in those games, but we did a good job this week taking care of business -- especially after the tough start with Milwaukee. There’s going to be a little extra juice, we’ll be fired up for those games, too.”