Zach Neto homers but Angels blow lead in loss to Diamondbacks
THE GAME: The Angels took an early three-run lead, but the bullpen let it get away in an 8-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
PITCHING REPORT: Right-hander Alek Manoah pitched three scoreless innings. Manoah has not allowed a run in five innings this spring. Three of the baserunners he allowed were erased, on a double play, a pickoff and a caught stealing. “I thought the sinker was good,” Manoah said. “I thought the four-seam was good as well and I thought the changeup was great. I thought the slider could be executed a little bit better.” … Left-hander Drew Pomeranz gave up a two-run homer in his inning. … Right-hander Kirby Yates allowed a run on three hits. He also struck out three. … Right-hander Jordan Romano pitched a perfect inning. … Left-hander Jayvien Sandridge gave up five runs in the eighth, including a three-run homer. He entered with a two-run lead. Sandridge was acquired from the New York Yankees over the winter. He can be optioned, so he is expected to provide bullpen depth at Triple-A.
HITTING REPORT: Zach Neto hit his first homer of the spring, a shot to left-center field. … Travis d’Arnaud pulled a double down the left-field line, and Jorge Soler scored from first on the play. Adam Frazier followed with a single into right, putting the Angels up 3-0 in the third. … Soler also doubled to right-center. Soler is 3 for 7 (.429) with two doubles and two walks this spring. … Mike Trout tried to beat out an infield hit, reaching a sprint speed of 29.9 feet per second. The last time Trout ran that fast in a regular-season game was April 29, 2024, which was the game when he suffered the knee injury that cost him the rest of the season. … Batting with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth, Jo Adell challenged the first pitch of the at-bat, which was called a strike on the outside corner. The call was confirmed, and Adell subsequently struck out for the third time in the game. D’Arnaud then hit into a double play. … The Angels were out of challenges when Kyren Paris tried to challenge a called third strike an inning later. The pitch was a strike. … Raudi Rodriguez punched a two-out run-scoring single into right field, giving the Angels a two-run lead.
DEFENSE REPORT: In the second inning, the Diamondbacks had runners at the corners when Tommy Troy took off for second base. D’Arnaud, the catcher, made a throw to second, and then Luken Baker tried to go home. Second baseman Adam Frazier’s return throw home was in plenty of time for the out, ending the inning. … Christian Moore played the final four innings at third, the first time he’d appeared in a professional regular-season or spring training game at a position other than second. He made a sliding stop of a sharp grounder. … Center fielder José Siri made a nice running catch going back toward the gap in left-center.
UP NEXT: Angels (LHP Reid Detmers) at Dodgers (RHP Landon Knack), Sunday, 12:05 p.m. PT, at Camelback Ranch.