Angels' Streaky Offense Trying To Stay Hot Against Interesting Orioles Squad

The Los Angeles Angels were able to avoid a series loss to the Athletics by taking the final two games of the four-game set, winning the finale 9-7 in an exciting comeback victory for the Halos on Sunday.

The Angels went down 4-0 in the first inning after starter Reid Detmers walked three and allowed three hits in the frame, but he settled in to pitch five more innings and allowed just one more run on three hits and one walk, striking out four in the no-decision.

Los Angeles answered with a three-run home run off the bat of designated hitter Donovan Walton, cutting the deficit to one. The scoring continued with an RBI single by A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz in the fourth, followed by Angels center fielder Jose Siri scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth.

Kurtz added a two-run blast to put the Athletics up 7-4, but prospect infielder Denzer Guzman tied the game with a three-run shot in the eighth, his third in as many games. Shortstop Zach Neto played hero with a two-run homer in the ninth, his 17th of the season and the eventual game-winner.

The Angels are still 15 games under .500 and out of playoff contention, but if the offense can keep swinging the bats like it has been the last few games, who knows where the team ends up in a historically bad American League.

Stacking wins and winning series is the most important thing right now, so winning the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday would be huge.

Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish will face off against Angels rookie lefty Sam Aldegheri, who has made just three starts this season.

Bradish is 4-7 with a 4.00 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 85 strikeouts to 41 walks through 15 starts (81 innings). The 29-year-old rebounded with a nice start against the Seattle Mariners after two consecutive starts of allowing five runs over four innings. Bradish threw 7.2 innings of one-run ball on five hits and two walks while punching out 12, a new career-high.

Aldegheri is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 13 strikeouts to 11 walks through six appearances (20 innings). He was recalled and joined the starting rotation after Jack Kochanowicz tore his right UCL.

Aldegheri was shelled by the Arizona Diamondbacks during his last outing, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks while fanning just one over three innings of work.

This could be a tough task for the young lefty, as the Orioles just took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers, including a 12-1 barrage on Sunday.

First pitch is at 6:38 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.