ANAHEIM — Maybe the Angels just needed to start with something totally out of the box in order to snap out of their funk.
Zach Neto, in just his second major league start in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, decided on his own to drop down a surprising bunt in the first inning.
Although baseball analysts would be critical of that move, it nonetheless led to the Angels getting home the first three runs of their season-high scoring output in a 12-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
It was the first time since 2011 that the Angels got a sacrifice bunt out of the No. 3 spot, which illustrates just how unorthodox of a move that was.
The bunt, however, might have been a sign that the Angels were starting fresh after playing a debacle of a game fundamentally the night before.
“Listen, anytime you’re doing a selfless play to help the team and stuff like that, I’m gonna applaud that,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “I don’t think there’s any downside to it there, and it worked out fine in the end. I think if he’s doing it with the thought of advancing the line and giving somebody else the opportunity to drive in the runs and putting pressure on the other teams, it’s a good play.”
Neto said he was just trying to make sure the Angels got something on the scoreboard early.
“It’s not illegal to bunt,” he said. “First and second, no outs in the first inning. (Taylor Ward) is behind me. He’s seeing it good. … We were able to manufacture runs in the first inning, and it got us going.”
Did it ever.
The Angels, who ended up with a season-high 17 hits, got at least one hit from every starter. This was the first time since Aug. 4 that they had more hits than strikeouts (seven).
“It’s fun,” said Chris Taylor, who hit a three-run homer and drove in four. “It seems like everybody’s having a good game. Everybody’s happy. Obviously, the pitching side was unbelievable. Everything was working on that side, and then for us to put up some big numbers as an offense felt good. We know what we’re capable of. I think we probably haven’t been hitting as well as we would like the last few weeks or so. So I thought that was good for us.”
The Angels had had hit .192 over the previous 20 games, with much of their damage coming on the home runs that they sprinkled between strikeouts. This time they strung rallies together, going 8 for 17 with runners in scoring position, including 8 for 12 with two outs. The Angels scored all 12 of their runs with two outs.
“When you’re on the other side of that, and we’ve been on the other side of that, and you get to the point where you’re thinking you’re getting out of the inning, and you don’t, that’s crippling,” Montgomery said.
Luis Rengifo got the scoring going with a two-out, two-run single in the first. In the fifth, Taylor and Rengifo drove in runs. Ward’s hit in the sixth drove in his 96th run of the season. Taylor followed with a three-run homer. In the seventh, Yoán Moncada hit a three-run homer.
Mike Trout, who had two singles and a walk, scored three times. Although Trout was a key cog in the Angels’ run-production on Tuesday, he did not hit a homer.
Trout extended his streak to a career-long 119 consecutive plate appearances without a homer. He went 117 straight plate appearances without a homer in 2015, a drought that spanned 27 games. Tuesday was his 27th straight game without a homer.
Trout hit his 398th career homer on Aug. 6, and since then he’s been stuck on the edge of a milestone.
The Angels (68-77) could get by without a Trout homer because the whole team contributed to a rare comfortable victory.
Starter Kyle Hendricks pitched one of his best games of the season, working seven scoreless innings and allowing four hits. Hendricks walked just one. He threw only 80 pitches, and 58 of them were strikes.
Hendricks has a 1.42 ERA in his last three starts, all quality starts.
“I just feel good,” Hendricks said. “I’m super appreciative to everybody around here, especially (pitching coach Barry Enright) and (assistant pitching coach Sal Fasano). These guys just keeping working with me. I’m really good in my mechanics right now and in my lanes. The fastball is at the bottom of the zone, and that’s kind of where everything stems for me. So I’ve just got to keep it right there and just keep working through the end of the year.”