Taylor Ward hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Los Angeles Angels emerged with a 6-5 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
Jo Adell also drove in two runs for Los Angeles, while Mike Trout and Logan O’Hoppe contributed two hits apiece. The visitors used seven pitchers to capture the win in the first game after the All-Star break for both teams.
Bryce Harper hit two home runs as part of a 3-for-4 night for Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber, the home run-hitting hero for the National League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, also went deep for the Phillies.
With the game tied at 4-4 in the seventh, Tanner Banks (2-2) walked Nolan Schanuel with one out. He recovered to strike out Trout, but Ward followed with a blast to left-center – his 22nd of the season.
Reid Detmers retired the Phillies in order in the seventh, but Harper led off the eighth with an opposite-field homer to get the hosts within 6-5.
That was as close as Philadelphia would get, however, as Kenley Jansen logged a 1-2-3 ninth for his 17th save. Sam Bachman (2-2) recorded two outs in the sixth to earn the victory.
After a first-inning homer by Schwarber, Los Angeles tied it in the second inning on Jorge Soler’s two-out blast against Jesus Luzardo.
The Phillies responded in the third with a three-run rally against Jake Eder – the first reliever for the Angels after Ryan Zeferjahn pitched the first inning as an opener. Trea Turner singled with one out and Schwarber walked before Harper launched one over the wall in right field.
In the fourth, it was the visitors’ turn to respond with a home run, as Adell sent one over the center field wall. Adell’s 20th of the season also scored Trout, who had opened the inning with a double.
Trout was involved in another rally in the fifth, as he came up with runners on the corners and two outs and delivered a game-tying single to center.
–Field Level Media
