Halos hope pinch-hit grand slam is start of resurgence for Adell

SEATTLE -- That’s one way to break out of a slump.

Jo Adell came into Friday’s series opener against the Mariners mired in a 1-for-32 skid -- including going hitless over his previous 16 at-bats -- and was held out of the lineup to get a mental break. But Adell was called on in a big situation and came up clutch with a game-tying pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning of a 5-4 loss at T-Mobile Park.

It came in another frustrating defeat, but it was a good sign for Adell.

“It’s been a little bit of a funk and for me, it’s been about swing decisions, so that was good,” Adell said. “My goal now is to continue to tunnel pitches that are closer to me that I can handle. Good things happen when you choose good pitches.”

Adell has been a feel-good story for the scuffling Angels, but after an impressive April, he struggled in May. His strikeout rate, which had worked hard to improve, again became an issue and he had struck out in 15 of his previous 32 at-bats.

Manager Ron Washington wanted to give Adell a break to clear his head after his recent funk and didn’t put him in the lineup even after Nolan Schanuel was scratched pregame with left thumb soreness, as Matt Thaiss was moved into the designated hitter role.

The offense was cold without Adell against right-hander Bryan Woo, who limited the Angels to just three hits over six scoreless innings. But the Angels started a rally against reliever Trent Thornton, loading the bases with two outs.

Lefty Tayler Saucedo was brought in, and Washington decided to utilize Adell as a pinch-hitter for the left-handed hitting Thaiss -- who had gotten two of the three hits off Woo. Adell worked a 2-2 count before he pulled a hanging slider over the left-field fence for a shocking, game-tying blast.

It marked the first game-tying grand slam in the Majors since Texas’ Hunter Pence did it on May 8, 2019 at Pittsburgh.

“It felt good to get that kind of swing off, especially chasing the ball away a couple times,” Adell said. “I had to re-channel my focus and look for a ball closer to me. I’ve been working with [the hitting coaches] on handling pitches closer to me and I put up a good swing.”

It was the seventh pinch-hit grand slam in club history and the first since Alberto Callaspo hit one off former Mariners ace Félix Hernández on May 26, 2012. They are the only two game-tying grand slams in T-Mobile Park history.

The only other Angels player to pull off the feat to tie the game was Mark Ryal on Sept. 10, 1987, against the Rangers. Shane Halter (May 8, 2004, vs. Rays), Jerry Narron (May 15, 1985, at Toronto), Joe Rudi (June 27, 1978, vs. Kansas City) and Merv Rettenmund (May 6, 1978, vs. Cleveland) are the only other players in club history to hit pinch-hit grand slams.

It was also the 11th homer of the year for Adell, who has three career grand slams out of his 29 career blasts. He's hitting .211/.272/.476 with 27 RBIs in 49 games this year. But after batting .327 in 20 games in April, Adell hit just .144 in 26 games in May.

Washington is hopeful this will get him going in June and beyond.

“That was huge,” Washington said. “We certainly need that. In that situation, you hope that happens. A lot of times it doesn’t, but it did tonight.”

Adell’s homer helped right-hander José Soriano avoid the loss after he allowed four runs over six innings, including three runs in the opening frame. But it wasn’t enough to keep the Angels from another defeat, as lefty reliever Matt Moore gave up a game-winning solo blast to Ty France in the eighth.

The Angels had a chance in the ninth with Adell at the plate and game-tying run at first base against closer Andrés Muñoz with two outs. But veteran Kevin Pillar was picked off and caught stealing at second base to end the game after Adell took a called first strike.

“It’s frustrating but I know what Kevin was trying to do on that play,” Adell said. “The guy out there in the ninth, there’s not many extra-base hits off that guy so he was trying to get in scoring position for me to score him with a single. It was all in an effort to win.”