Big hit finally lands as Halos 'flip the script' on Yanks

ANAHEIM -- After the Angels were swept by the Guardians over the weekend to drop their home record to an MLB-worst 6-19 on the season, manager Ron Washington couldn’t find any particular reason why his club has had so much trouble at Angel Stadium despite a 14-14 road record.

But he said he believed things would turn if the Angels could simply just get some more key hits. Well, that's exactly what happened on Tuesday in a shocking 4-3 win over the American League-leading Yankees.

Taylor Ward played the role of hero with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning off closer Clay Holmes to secure an unlikely comeback in front of a crowd with almost enough Yankees fans to create a road atmosphere.

“That’s the big hit we’ve been looking for,” Washington said. “We've been putting ourselves in position, and tonight Taylor was the right guy that came through for us. I really feel like we've been playing good baseball. We just haven't been able to get over the hump with one hit there or one play there.”

Ward ambushed Holmes, jumping all over a first-pitch sinker even though it was in and a bit off the plate. But Ward's decision to swing on the first pitch before his at-bat paid off, as he was able to lift the ball over the head of Alex Verdugo in left field.

“[Holmes] is not usually the type of pitcher where I’m hunting early, but I took my shot,” Ward said. “I came through with a good swing on it. I figured he'd try to get ahead early, so I played the odds there.”

It was the Halos' fourth straight victory over New York going back to last season, as they also swept the Yankees at Angel Stadium last year. It's the team's first four-game win streak over the Yankees dating back to May 2-July 12, 2009.

Veteran Kevin Pillar, who went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in the first inning to stay red-hot and extend his hitting streak to a career-high-tying 11 games, said they spoke as a group pregame about how they believed they can hang with the best teams in baseball. He said it’s all about fostering belief in a young club, as they’re learning to win close games. Even with Tuesday's victory, they're still just 6-11 in one-run games this year.

“It’s huge,” said Pillar, who has five homers and 20 RBIs in 17 games with the Angels. “We talked about it before the game and we talked about it a lot after the game. Just knowing that we can compete with anyone. It’s just a matter of believing we can win games.”

Ward has been one of the club’s hottest hitters recently, so it was only fitting he came through in a clutch moment. Willie Calhoun started the rally with a single off reliever Luke Weaver, but it appeared the Yankees were getting out of the inning after Luis Rengifo hit a grounder to first base. Anthony Rizzo dived for a play that was originally ruled an error that extended the inning, and Ward made the Yankees pay on Holmes’ first offering.

“It just shows what we can do,” Ward said. “It's really weird with the home/away thing. But I just think guys are grinding and having good at-bats. And I think if we just continue to get that one hit here and there, we can flip the script.”

It was quite the surprise comeback for the Angels, who hadn’t scored since the first inning on a two-run homer from Pillar. But the offense cooled after the opening frame until Ward’s heroics in the eighth.

Right-hander Griffin Canning kept his team in the game by allowing three runs over five innings. He was hurt by a pair of defensive miscues that extended the fourth and fifth innings. The Yankees made the Angels pay after Kyren Paris couldn’t handle a two-out grounder and Rengifo couldn’t start a routine inning-ending double play.

But the Angels were resilient and the bullpen was excellent, as Hunter Strickland, Luis García, Matt Moore and closer Carlos Estévez combined to retire all 12 batters they faced.

Estévez was warming up in the bullpen when he saw Ward smack the go-ahead double, and he said it caused him to flip the switch in the ninth.

“I wasn't thinking of anything else other than just keeping it right there because we just took it back,” Estévez said. “After a few rough games, this was important for the group. They brought in their closer and Taylor delivered with a bullet, so it was amazing to see.”