SAN DIEGO — Taylor Ward added an unforgettable moment to a season that so far has been mostly filled with disappointment.
Ward hit a tiebreaking grand slam, capping a six-run ninth-inning rally in the Angels’ shocking 9-5 victory over the Padres on Monday night.
“Amazing,” Ward said. “Amazing. I’m going to soak in every minute of this and just turn the page tomorrow and get back to it.”
Ward is hitting .190, and that includes some positive signs in the past week. Prior to that, he was so lost that he asked the Angels to bring minor-league pitchers to Angel Stadium so he could get some extra at-bats in the afternoon. Monday marked Ward’s third multi-hit game since then.
“I think it helped a lot,” Ward said, adding that he’s now more focused on “staying anchored to the ground.”
The stage was set for Ward’s heroics by a series of disciplined at-bats from his teammates.
The Angels were down by two runs in the ninth, when the Padres sent closer Robert Suarez and his 0.51 ERA to the mound. Suarez had converted all 15 of his save opportunities this season. He had allowed one run and he’d walked just four batters.
So what happened next was shocking.
With one out, pinch-hitter Luis Rengifo singled. Pinch-hitter Logan O’Hoppe then walked. Zach Neto – who earlier in the game hit a two-run homer – also walked, loading the bases. Nolan Schanuel then walked, pushing home a run.
Yoán Moncada then walked at the end of an eight-pitch duel with Suarez, forcing in the tying run.
“We grinded some great at-bats against that kid,” Manager Ron Washington said. “He throws so hard (topping at 100.6 mph in the inning) you don’t have a whole lot of time to make a decision on whether you’re going to swing or not. And we did a good job of staying off of balls that were out of the zone. And that gave us the opportunity where Taylor came up and got us the victory today.”
Suarez was pulled after the walk to Moncada. Right-hander Alek Jacob entered, and one out later he hung a 2-and-2 sweeper that Ward lofted over the left field fence. It was the fifth grand slam of his career.
Five of the runs were charged to Suarez, putting a dent in his sensational start to the season. Last week, Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman had allowed just two runs before coming to Anaheim, and the Angels hung six on him in two come-from-behind victories.
One of the victories against Hoffman was a ninth-inning rally, and the Angels also had a four-run rally in the ninth to beat San Francisco Giants closer Ryan Walker on April 20.
Coincidentally, one of the common denominators in all those ninth-inning comebacks was they took Yusei Kikuchi off the hook for losses.
Kikuchi still hasn’t a won a game in his nine starts, but that’s not entirely his fault. Kikuchi has a 3.72 ERA and he’s gotten through six innings in six starts. He’s only failed to finish five once.
Kikuchi allowed just two earned runs in six innings on Monday. In the third inning, he quickly retired the first two hitters but then gave up a run on three straight singles.
Kikuchi was about to get out of the inning when Xander Bogaerts hit a chopper to his left. He jumped and grabbed the ball, but he bobbled it on the way down. He still had time to pick it up and throw to first, but his throw skipped past Schanuel as two runs scored.
“I’ve never made that sort of mistake,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter. “I think I panicked a little bit.”
A couple of hours later, he was able to laugh about it because his teammates picked him up.
“I’m just glad my error didn’t cost us the game,” he said. “I’m glad we came out on top.”
The Angels (17-23) reached the quarter-pole of the season with a thrilling victory, and it also provided a good start for one of the most challenging weeks of the season.
The Angels have six straight road games against arguably the two best teams in the majors. After two more games in San Diego, the Angels head to Dodger Stadium this weekend.
Washington was hopeful that his team could fare well this week because of what the Angels did last season. The 2024 Angels lost 99 games, but five of the eight teams that they played .500 or better against were playoff teams. That included a three-game sweep of the Padres.
Asked before the game if he could explain that, Washington came up empty.
“If I knew, we wouldn’t play like we play against the teams that are not as successful,” Washington said. “I don’t know. We play well against good teams.”