Los Angeles

Angels

Neto took Red Sox lefty starter Jake Bennett deep a couple pitches after having a called third strike overturned on a challenge in the third inning. It was his 25th round-tripper of the season. The 25-year-old shortstop has looked like a completely different player since the Angels opted not to move him at last month’s trade deadline, hitting .301 (37-for-123) with six homers, 25 RBI and five steals over his last 30 games.

Joyce was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and wound up being charged with a run after Nate Eaton tagged him for an RBI single following a one-out walk from Jarren Duran. The hard-throwing 25-year-old reliever appears to have a lock on the closing role in Los Angeles for the final few weeks of the season.

Johnson’s velocity was up a couple ticks across the board on his entire arsenal as he managed to cruise in the early stages of this one, carrying a shutout into the fifth inning before Roman Anthony took him deep for a two-run blast. He also surrendered a solo shot to Wilyer Abreu in the ensuing frame. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk. He’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his last seven starts dating back to August 6. He draws a favorable home matchup against the Mariners his next time out on Tuesday.

Neto is hitting .367 with four homers and 16 RBI in his last 19 games. He’s now two homers shy of his career-high total of 26 from last year, and he’s tied for ninth in the majors with 90 runs scored.

There are surely some contenders kicking themselves for not meeting the Angels’ asking price for Detmers. He’s allowed just three runs and amassed a 41/5 K/BB over 39 innings in his last six starts to improve to 5-8 with a 3.32 ERA for the season. He’ll take on the Mariners next Monday.

Moore hit four grounders tonight, ranging from 93 to 106 mph. Two went for hits, and the other two turned into double plays. Still, it’s good to see him hitting the ball hard, and groundballs aren’t typically a big issue for him. He’s batting .183 with one homer in 16 games since games since being recalled last month.

All three of Ballesteros’s hits left the bat at over 100 mph. He’s still batting just .195/.242/.283 through 30 games with the Angels, but things might be getting better. He’s struck out just once in his last four games, compared to 30 times in his first 26 games with the team.

Rodriguez threw just 61 percent of his pitches for strikes in this one with a 23 percent CSW. His changeup posted just a 50 percent strike rate, and that has been one of his best pitches this season. On a positive note, he did post a 15 percent swinging strike rate on his curveball, and he has struggled for most of the season to get whiffs on his breaking balls. Rodriguez will take a 6.28 ERA into a start against the Nationals on Sunday, and wejust can’t recommended using him in that game.

Ballesteros has now started four of the last six games at either first base or designated hitter. The Angels are also carrying two other catchers on their roster, so it seems like they will limit how many starts Ballesteros makes behind the dish for the remainder of the season. That has meant Vaughn Grissom has played more third base and Oswald Peraza has shifted to the bench.

Ureña gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four. He fell to 9-10 with the loss. Ureña has now allowed two runs in 15 innings with 12 strikeouts over his last two starts. He has a 2.74 ERA. Ureña is lined up to face the Nationals on the road next weekend.