PHILADELPHIA — It’s a familiar routine for Taylor Ward.
His “inner circle” of friends and family text him when they see his name in trade rumors, and Ward does all he can to ignore it.
The best way to make them go away is to keep doing what he did on Friday night, when he hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh inning of the Angels’ 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Angels (48-49) have just 12 games left before the trade deadline. They began the day four games out of a playoff spot, needing a hot streak in the next two weeks to avoid a sell-off that could include Ward.
“I want to stay here,” Ward said. “I want to win with this group. I think it’d be the cherry on top, getting to the playoffs and winning with this group.”
Closer Kenley Jansen, another player likely to be dealt if the Angels decide to sell, echoed Ward’s comments. He also has no desire to be moved.
“I came here with one mind, that’s try to help this organization, to turn it back to a winning organization,” Jansen said after pitching a perfect ninth to record the save. “We’ve got a great group of guys around here, and I think we could do it. We could sneak into the wild card or you never know what could happen the next 65 games. So we just got to keep coming with this energy. We played a really great team today. The bullpen pitched well. Everybody played well. Just look forward to tomorrow. Can’t worry about the next two weeks.”
This one didn’t start very well, with the Angels opting for a bullpen game and winding up in 4-1 hole by the third inning.
The Angels tied it by the fifth. In the seventh, Ward got a hanging sweeper from left-hander Tanner Banks and he hit it over the left field fence, giving the Angels their first lead of the game.
Ward’s team-leading 22nd homer of the season made it 6-4.
“I was hunting a fastball and kind of just ran into that one,” Ward said. “So glad I took a swing on it. Just didn’t miss it.”
Left-hander Reid Detmers worked a perfect seventh. In the eight, right-hander José Fermin gave up Bryce Harper’s second homer of the game, cutting the lead in half.
Jansen took the mound in the ninth with a one-run lead, which could have been bigger if the Angels had driven in runners from third with one out in the eighth or ninth innings.
Jansen still converted his 17th save of the season – and 464th of his career – to finish a successful bullpen game.
It was unusual for the Angels to choose a bullpen game for the first start out of the break.
They did it to give an extra day of rest to starters Yusei Kikuchi and José Soriano and to avoid having Tyler Anderson or Kyle Hendricks pitch at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. They also have an opening in their rotation since Jack Kochanowicz was sent down, and by pushing the spot for the No. 5 starter from next Tuesday to Wednesday, they have the option of using Victor Mederos for that game. Mederos would not have been in the minors for the required 15 days on Tuesday.
Still, the decision didn’t look good initially.
Right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn got the start and he gave up a home run to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning. Left-hander Jake Eder followed Zeferjahn to the mound, and he gave up a three-run homer to Harper in the third inning, putting the Angels in a 4-1 hole.
The Angels got back two of those runs on Jo Adell’s two-run homer in the fourth, his 20th of the season.
In the fifth, Mike Trout poked a two-out single into right, driving in the tying run. It was the 996th RBI of Trout’s career.
Trout is 8 for 22 (.364) with three home runs and nine RBIs in his last six games. Ever since the three-time American League MVP returned from the injured list in late May, he has been getting on base – mostly with walks – but lately he’s been coming up with more clutch hits.
“It’s just a continuation of what we’ve seen since he’s come back,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “The important thing is he keeps staying healthy, knock on wood. And when he starts seeing pitches and he’s in games for a lengthy amount of time, it’s Mike Trout.”