Angels use long ball to beat White Sox

[May 16, 2017]  ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout has fans all over the country, but some of his biggest fans are the teammates who play alongside him every day.

Trout's home run in the fifth inning snapped a tie and helped the Los Angeles Angels post a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night at Angel Stadium.

The home run was Trout's only hit of the night, but as usual, it had an impact. Trout homered in a fourth consecutive game, becoming the first Angel to do so since Mark Trumbo in 2012.

"It's unbelievable," Angels starting pitcher Jesse Chavez, who went seven-plus innings to earn the victory, said of Trout. "I mess with the guys all the time, 'You guys have been spoiled.' I'm relishing every moment of it. Watching him go in every day, do his work and just the way he prepares and goes about his business. Bar none, hands down, the best I've seen."

Trout has hit safely in 21 of his past 22 games, the only glitch coming in the first game after a five-game absence caused by a sore hamstring. He is putting up gaudy numbers -- .352 average, 12 homers, 27 RBIs, .450 on-base percentage, .752 slugging percentage.

"Unbelievable," said Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun, whose three-run homer in the fifth tied the game at 3-3. "First game (after missing five games) he didn't get a hit, and now he's back to Mike Trout. The guy ... every day he's going to amaze you with something."

Martin Maldonado also went deep for the Angels, homering in the seventh inning to stretch their lead in support of Chavez (3-5). The right-hander gave up three runs and five hits through seven innings, but when he walked the leadoff batter in the eighth, he was done for the night.

The homers by Calhoun and Trout spoiled the night for White Sox starter Mike Pelfrey, who allowed just one hit through the first four innings. However, Pelfrey (0-4) walked two batters in the fifth before Calhoun turned on a fastball on the inner half of the plate to turn the game upside down.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria took the blame for the loss because he said he should not have left Pelfrey in the game to face Calhoun. Left-hander Dan Jennings was up in the bullpen and ready to go.

"You want to get that guy (Pelfrey) through it (the fifth inning) but you know all season long we've been doing the opposite, we've been not worrying about the individual, we're more worried about the team.

"The bottom line is today, I went against the team concept and wanted to feel something for the player and it bit us in the butt. These guys have been playing very, very hard. There's no way to clean that up, there's no way to make an excuse for it. None whatsoever. Everybody should be upset, I'm extremely upset. I've been doing this a long time and today my emotions for an individual came before the reality of managing for a team."

Angels first baseman Luis Valbuena (18) breaks his bat in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Angels had just six hits in the game, but five of them (three homers, two doubles) went for extra-bases.

Bud Norris got the final four outs for the Angels, earning his eighth save of the season.

Chavez needed just 40 pitches to get through the first three innings, retiring all nine White Sox hitters.

Chicago got its first baserunner of the night when Leury Garcia led off the fourth inning with a single to center, and one out later, Jose Abreu smashed his sixth homer of the season, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead.

In the early innings, Pelfrey didn't look like a pitcher seeking his first win of the season. He retired the Angels in order in the first, third and fourth innings. In the second, he gave up a walk and a single but worked his way out of the jam.

The White Sox increased their lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning when Yolmer Sanchez singled, stole second and scored on a two-out triple by Tyler Saladino, despite a diving effort of Angels right fielder Calhoun.

NOTES: White Sox C Geovany Soto was transferred from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow and is expected to be out a minimum of three months. ... Angels 3B Yunel Escobar was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. He is expected to miss two to four weeks. INF/OF Jefry Marte was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake. ... White Sox RHP Gregory Infante was called up from Triple-A Charlotte. Infante, 29, had not pitched in the big leagues since 2010 before he pitched a scoreless ninth inning Monday. INF Cody Asche was optioned to Charlotte to make room on the roster for Infante.

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