Jo Adell is first Angels player since 2012 to homer twice in an inning in win over Rays
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TAMPA, Fla. — Jo Adell’s home run drought ended all at once Thursday as he hit two of the Angels’ four homers in an eight-run fifth inning of an eventual 11-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Adell hit Zack Littell’s first-pitch slider 408 feet out to center leading off the inning and ended it with a three-run shot to left off Mason Englert.
In between, Taylor Ward hit his second homer of the game and Mike Trout hit the first of his two in the game as the Angels finished the fifth with a 10-1 lead. Four homers in an inning matched the franchise record.
Adell, who hit a career-high 20 homers last season, came into Thursday batting .185 with no homers.
José Caballero hit a grand slam and Yandy Díaz added a solo homer, lifting the Tampa Bay Rays past the Angels Wednesday at George Steinbrenner Field.
He was the first Angels player since Kendrys Morales in 2012 to homer twice in an inning and the third player in franchise history to do it. Rick Reichardt homered twice in a 12-run inning at Boston on April 30, 1966, and Morales homered twice in a nine-run sixth at Texas on July 30, 2012.
Trout hit a two-run homer in the fifth against Littell (0-3) and added a solo homer in the ninth off Hunter Bigge for his fifth home run this season and the 27th multihomer game of his big league career. Trout also homered in the July 30, 2012, game.
Right-hander Jose Soriano (2-1) gave up one run and five hits while striking out four before being lifted with two outs in the eighth. Ryan Johnson recorded the final four outs for the Angels, who have won four of their last five games and have won each of their first four series this season. The Angels open a three-game series in Houston against the Astros on Friday.
Tampa Bay dropped to 5-4 at Steinbrenner Field, where it played its third game on a 13-game homestand. A crowd of 10,046 was the Rays’ ninth straight sellout.
Key moment
Adell’s homer on the first pitch of the fifth sparked the big inning.
Key stat
Four of the Angels six home runs came in the fifth inning, the first three off Littell.
Up next
Angels: RHP Jack Kochanowicz (1-0, 3.27 ERA) starts Friday at Houston against RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 9.45).
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (1-0, 4.91) starts Friday in a series opener against Atlanta.
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