SEATTLE — Mike Trout made up for a rough afternoon with one swing.
Trout blasted a two-run homer in the 10th inning to lift the Angels to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a split doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
Trout had been hitless in his first four trips, including three strikeouts, but when he came up in the 10th, he drilled a ball over the center-field fence.
It was Trout’s 19th homer of the season, and his 50th career homer against the Mariners, his most against any team.
The Angels’ offense had been quiet for most of the afternoon, scoring on Kurt Suzuki’s two-run single in the fourth and then doing nothing until the 10th.
Tyler Wade, the Angels’ automatic runner, was still standing at third with two outs when Trout homered.
Left-hander José Quijada then worked a scoreless bottom of the 10th, picking up his first save with the Angels. Closer Raisel Iglesias had pitched a perfect ninth to get the game to extra innings.
Angels starter Patrick Sandoval continued his solid season by adding another strong outing, allowing just one run in six innings.
Sandoval gave up a homer to Dylan Moore in the third, and nothing else. He walked two and struck out five.
Even though Sandoval didn’t seem to have his best stuff — he induced just 10 whiffs from the Mariners in 42 swings — he was still effective.
Sandoval has consistently been able to avoid damage this season, regardless of whether he is at his best. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts, leading to a 2.70 ERA.
Interim manager Phil Nevin pulled Sandoval after 91 pitches in six innings. The most pitches he’d thrown all season was 101, and he’d thrown more than 95 just three times.
That left nine outs for the bullpen, which had a 2-1 lead, and they couldn’t even hold the lead for two outs. Left-hander Aaron Loup hit Moore with a pitch. The Angels then had Moore picked off, but first baseman Jared Walsh made a bad throw to second and Moore stole second. He went to third on Abraham Toro’s single and scored on a Julio Rodriguez single against right-hander Archie Bradley.
Loup hit Moore and Bradley gave up the hit to Rodriguez on 0-and-2 pitches.
