Angels 6, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE -- Chris Iannetta and Marc Krauss contributed back-to-back RBI singles in the seventh inning while Mike Trout and David Freese added solo homers later to support starter Matt Shoemaker's strong seven-inning effort as the Los Angeles Angels improved their winning streak to five with a 6-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.
The Orioles (15-19) held a 1-0 lead when the Angels (19-17) manufactured two runs in the top of the seventh off starter Ubaldo Jimenez (3-3). Shortstop Erick Aybar and second baseman Johnny Giavotella started the inning with back-to-back infield singles before Jimenez retired the next two batters.
That's when Iannetta singled on a high hopper that deflected off third baseman Manny Machado's glove and into left, scoring Aybar with the tying run. Iannetta was batting .099 (7-for-71) at that time.
Krauss, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, had been hitless in his first seven at-bats with the Angels before lining a single to left. Giavotella scored from third to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.
Trout then homered to right off right-hander Darren O'Day to start the eighth for a key insurance run. Freese did the same thing in the ninth against left-hander Zach Britton, and the Angels added two more runs in that inning, one coming on a Trout infield single.
Shoemaker (3-3) shut down the Orioles, giving up one run on three hits in his seven innings. He only allowed second baseman Steve Pearce's solo homer in the fourth and threw 60 strikes on just 84 pitches in a dominating performance.
Jimenez matched Shoemaker but took the hard-luck loss. He gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings, and the right-hander struck out six without a walk.
A pregame rainstorm caused a 57-minute delay at the outset, and the two starting pitchers dominated early before the Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on Pearce's two-out homer.
Pearce sent a 3-2 pitch into the left-field seats to end his power drought. The second baseman had not homered since April 7 during the season's first series.
The Angels threatened in the top of the fifth when Freese singled with one out and left fielder Matt Joyce reached on Machado's fielding error. But Jimenez escaped by retiring the next two batters and holding the 1-0 lead.
NOTES: The Orioles are again changing their starting pitcher for Sunday's series finale and were scheduled to make an announcement after the game Saturday. RHP Chris Tillman had been scheduled to start but has been bothered by lower-back stiffness. ... RHP Bud Norris was supposed to start Saturday for Baltimore, but bronchitis forced manager Buck Showalter to scratch him and move RHP Ubaldo Jimenez to that game and Tillman to Sunday before this second change. ... The Orioles also announced that they've changed the start time of their May 28 doubleheader with the White Sox from 4:05 p.m. to 1:05. These are the two games that were postponed because of the civil unrest in Baltimore a few weeks ago. ... Angels 1B Albert Pujols needs one stolen base to become just the 12th player in baseball history to steal 100 bases and hit 500 home runs. ... C Carlos Perez has had a big impact on the Angels since coming up from the minors and making his major league debut. After Friday's win, the Angels improved to 8-1 in games that Perez started behind the plate.