ANAHEIM — The Angels slugged last in an epic slugfest.
Jorge Soler hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth to lift the Angels to an 11-8 victory over the Texas Rangers in a rollercoaster of a game on Wednesday night.
Soler, who has been in a slump for much of the last two months, got ahead 3-and-1 and then launched a 421-foot homer. He took a few moments to watch the ball fly, no doubt relishing the success after what’s gone wrong for him lately. Nolan Schanuel added an RBI single later in the inning.
Mike Trout hit two homers for the Angels, a game-tying two-run blast in the third and then a go-ahead solo shot in the fifth, leading an outburst that helped erase the memory of a blowout loss on Tuesday night.
“The offense obviously picked us up big tonight, and to bounce back after last night was great,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “We live and die on the home run and we get a few tonight.”
It was Trout’s first multi-homer game since he came back from the injured list on May 30.
“We know what he’s capable of at any given AB,” Montgomery said. “He can change the game anytime he’s in the box. Tonight was awesome, and it’s good to see him drive the ball the other way, like that too.”
In the 36 games since he returned from the IL, heading into Wednesday, Trout had a higher on-base percentage (.419) than slugging percentage (.413). That was a sign that he’d been drawing plenty of walks but not doing his customary damage when he swung the bat.
“Just seeing the ball and putting good swings on the ball, the homers will be there,” Trout said. “When you barrel balls up, good things happen.”
With 16 homers this season, Trout is up to 394 for his career.
Soler and Trout had the biggest hits on a night when all nine Angels starters had at least one of the team’s 12 hits.
Jo Adell had a go-ahead RBI double in the third, and has reached by a hit or a walk in 20 straight games.
Travis d’Arnaud had two hits, including a homer. Taylor Ward had a game-tying two-run single in the seventh, and he also walked.
The Angels (45-47), who have been among the major league leaders in strikeouts all season, struck out just twice.
The barrage helped the Angels on a night when a few of the eight pitchers they used had trouble getting through clean innings.
Starter Kyle Hendricks had one of his rougher outings of the season, allowing five runs in 3⅔ innings. Although Hendricks has been unspectacular this season, he’s done well to get through at least five innings while allowing three runs or fewer in most of his starts.
This time, though, the Rangers (45-48) were on him from the start.
Hendricks gave up six hits, including a Kyle Higashioka homer that barely cleared the left-field fence.
He also caused himself some problems when he fielded a broken-bat comebacker and just had to throw the ball about 50 feet to get an out at the plate, but he chucked it past d’Arnaud, the catcher.
Montgomery came to visit Hendricks just before he faced Josh Smith in the fourth inning. Left-hander Brock Burke was warming in the bullpen, and Smith is much better against righties than lefties. Still, Montgomery left Hendricks on the mound, and Smith hit a hard ground ball through the middle, driving in a run.
“That early in the game, talking to Kyle and what he felt with Smith, he felt like he had a good plan for him,” Montgomery said. “Listen, it’s the fourth inning. We gotta manage the ’pen too. Thought it was an opportunity for him to go ahead and get him. Hit the ground ball up middle. Didn’t work.”
The next time Smith came to the plate, the Angels did bring in a lefty, Reid Detmers. Detmers got Smith to end the sixth, preserving a tie, but he couldn’t get through the seventh.
Detmers hit Corey Seager with a pitch and then gave up a tie-breaking two-run homer to Marcus Semien. That snapped his 22-game streak without allowing an earned run. The last time he gave up an earned run was May 17.
Semien fouled off three straight 3-and-2 fastballs before getting one in the middle of the zone, and he launched it over the left field fence.
Ward’s clutch hit in the bottom of the inning took Detmers off the hook. After José Fermin worked a perfect eighth, the Angels took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning.
“It felt good being able to help my teammates win that game,” Soler said through an interpreter. “So it was a good moment.”