The Los Angeles Angels kicked off a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre on Thursday. The opener proved to be quite a slugfest, but the Halos prevailed in the end with a 9-7 win. It was the fourth straight win for the Angels.
Alberto Callaspo opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with a solo home run to give the Angels the lead, but Yunel Escobar tied things up in the bottom of the frame with an RBI groundout. In the bottom of the third, Jeff Mathis led off with a home run to make it 2-1 Blue Jays.
In the top of the fourth, Mark Trumbo hit a 2-run homer -- his 19th of the season -- to put the Halos back on top. Albert Pujols added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2 Los Angeles. In the bottom of the fourth, Rajai Davis hit a sac fly of his own to cut into the lead.
Howie Kendrick hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it 5-3 Halos, but Jose Bautista launched a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning and allowed Toronto to reclaim a 6-5 lead.
The Angels put up their second three-run inning in the top of the sixth, as Peter Bourjos hit an RBI ground-rule double to tie things up and two batters later, Mike Trout hit his eighth home run of the year to make it 8-6 Halos.
Brett Lawrie hit an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game once again. The Jays tried to pick up the tying run run on a slow chopper by Bautista, but Erick Aybar was able to throw the runner out at home, preserving the Angels lead.
Trumbo gave the Angels a big insurance run with an RBI triple in the top of the ninth inning. Trumbo finished the day with two hits and three RBI, while Pujols was 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles.
Ernesto Frieri was able to get the four-out save, entering the game with two outs in the eighth inning. With one out in the ninth, Frieri loaded the bases for Edwin Encarnacion. Luckily, Frieri was able to get the double-play to secure the win.
Angels starter Dan Haren gave up six runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings of work.
For all news and information regarding the Los Angeles Angels, please visit Halos Heaven. For updates and perspective on the Toronto Blue Jays, head on over to Bluebird Banter.
