Logan O’Hoppe’s late homer propels Angels past Tigers for 5th straight win
Luis Rengifo continues to produce with an early two-run homer and O’Hoppe delivers a tiebreaking three-run blast in the eighth inning as the team establishes its season-best win streak, 5-2
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe, right, is greeted at home plate by teammates Taylor Ward, left, and Luis Rengifo after hitting a tiebreaking three-run home run in the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. The Angels held on to win their season-best fifth game in a row, 5-2. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo gestures while running the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo hits a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo gestures while running the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. The Angels won their season-best fifth consecutive game, 5-2, (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, right, looks on as the Angels’ Luis Rengifo (2) celebrates with teammate Nolan Schanuel after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo, left, celebrates with teammate Nolan Schanuel after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Luis Rengifo is congratulated in the dugout after he hit a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers center fielder Matt Vierling catches a fly ball hit by the Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe during the first inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Injured Angels center fielder Mike Trout sits in the dugout during the second inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac sits in the dugout after being removed during the third inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac sits in the dugout after being removed during the third inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels starting pitcher Zach Plesac sits in the dugout after being removed during the third inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Detroit Tigers’ Riley Greene runs toward first base on a ground out to Angels second baseman Luis Guillorme during the fifth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers shortstop Ryan Kreidler throws to first base to complete a double play during the fifth inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Angels left fielder Kevin Pillar, right, collides with shortstop Zach Neto while catching a fly ball hit by the Detroit Tigers’ Mark Canha during the sixth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda throws to the plate during the first inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda reacts after deflecting a line drive single hit by the Angels’ Taylor Ward during the sixth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda, left, leaves the game after he was hit on the hand by a line drive during the sixth inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Angels first base coach Bo Porter, left, speaks with right fielder Jo Adell during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels left fielder Kevin Pillar makes a catch in foul territory on a ball hit by the Detroit Tigers’ Riley Greene during the eighth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Angels shortstop Zach Neto throws out the Detroit Tigers’ Matt Vierling on a ground out during the eighth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe hits a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe hits a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe hits a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe hits a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe runs the bases after hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe, right, is greeted at home plate by teammates Taylor Ward, left, and Luis Rengifo after hitting a tiebreaking three-run home run in the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. The Angels held on to win their season-best fifth game in a row, 5-2. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe (14) celebrates with Manager Ron Washington, right, as he returns to the dugout after hitting a go-ahead three-run home run during the eighth inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Fetter, left, speaks with relief pitcher Shelby Miller during the eighth inning of their game against the Angels on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Detroit Tigers shortstop Ryan Kreidler fields a ground ball hit by the Angels’ Nolan Schanuel, who was out at first during the eighth inning on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez celebrates after the final out of the ninth inning of their 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez celebrates after the team’s 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez celebrates after the final out of the ninth inning of their 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
From left, Angels left fielder Kevin Pillar, center fielder Mickey Moniak, and right fielder Jo Adell celebrate after the team’s 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Angels shortstop Zach Neto, left, and right fielder Jo Adell celebrate after the team’s 5-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Young Angels fans watch during the fifth inning of the team’s game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
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The Angels’ Luis Rengifo gestures while running the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of their game against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Angel Stadium. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
ANAHEIM — Zach Plesac only has to look down the Angels’ bench if he is looking for some inspiration on how to overcome adversity.
Plesac struggled to find the strike zone, while Luis Rengifo continued to produce offensively and Logan O’Hoppe delivered the big blow in the Angels’ 5-2 victory against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night that extended the club’s winning streak to a season-best five games.
One day after Rengifo took the lead in the American League batting chase with a .312 average, he celebrated by lifting a two-run home run to left-center field in the first inning. It was his second home run in as many nights against Detroit.
Rengifo also singled to start an eighth-inning rally and scored the go-ahead run on O’Hoppe’s two-out home run on the first pitch he saw from Tigers right-hander Shelby Miller. It was the 11th of the season for O’Hoppe and his fourth in the past 15 games.
“We knew at some point we’d start putting things together (at home) where we give the fans an opportunity to see what we’re capable of doing,” Manager Ron Washington said after his team started the season 5-17 at Angel Stadium. “Again, we’re still young. Again, we’re still learning.
“It’s nice to be doing this at home because it will attract more people to come out and recognize that we can play baseball.”
Rengifo has not only been effective on offense this season, he has managed to lift his game on defense as well and the turnaround started when he hit something of a rock bottom in April.
Defensive struggles on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Cincinnati in April inspired Rengifo to put a little focus on his infield work and the increased attention to detail has shown up on offense as well.
“I saw a shift (in Rengifo) in Cincinnati when (Jose) Soriano was throwing a no-hitter into the sixth inning and he started booting balls out there,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “We had just left Tampa and he was booting balls out there.
“But that last time in Cincinnati, that’s when things started clicking in. That’s when he started to take the game serious. That’s when he started to take his work ethic serious.”
Plesac can only hope to channel the same energy after he was unable to find his command in the second inning and could not protect the early two-run lead. After two quick outs in the second, the Tigers’ Ryan Kreider singled. Wenceel Perez was down 1-and-0 in the count before everything changed.
Plesac proceeded to throw 16 of the next 19 pitches out of the strike zone and the ensuing four consecutive walks tied the score at 2-2. Jose Marte came in from the bullpen and ended the threat by getting Colt Keith on a soft comebacker.
“I was cruising, I got two outs and my hands just got sweaty; I couldn’t get a grip,” Plesac said. “It seemed like I was just squeezing it tight. I just couldn’t get a grip on the ball. It just kept sliding out. You got to give it up to the bullpen.”
Marte’s out was only the start of the bullpen’s heavy lifting. Marte went 1⅓ scoreless innings before Matt Moore contributed a scoreless frame. Hunter Strickland went two scoreless before Luis Garcia (3-0) took over for a scoreless eighth.
Right-hander Carlos Estevez finished off his 16th save with a perfect ninth inning.
“It’s unbelievable,” O’Hoppe said of the bullpen’s performance. “I haven’t pitched before, obviously, but I would imagine that’s hard to do on short notice like that. They did a great job. They didn’t allow a lot of traffic and when they did, they went pitch by pitch. It was pretty cool.”
Tigers starter Kenta Maeda was removed from the game in the sixth inning after taking a 94-mph Taylor Ward comebacker to the midsection. Maeda gave up two runs on six hits over 5⅓ innings, while Miller (4-6) was charged with all three runs in the eighth.
Of Plesac’s 57 total pitches, just 29 were for strikes as he gave up just one hit but four total walks with three strikeouts in 2⅔ innings.
“He just couldn’t get the feel anymore. He just lost his feel,” Washington said. “First two innings he was going just the way he wanted to and all of a sudden, he lost his feel. I tried to give him a chance to get out of it. Once the game was tied, I had to go to the bullpen.”
Of the five Angels pitchers who followed Plesac, the group did not walk a batter in 6⅓ innings.
“Three ingredients you need to stay consistent: Pitch, play defense and get timely hitting,” Washington said.
As far as timely hits go, there was none better than the one from O’Hoppe.
“He seems to be clutch,” Washington said. “But you just got to wait until he gets more time under his belt before we name him ‘Mr. Clutch.’ But he has been clutch for us in many, many ways.”