ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a dramatic 5-4 walk-off victory over the Washington Nationals before a Mother’s Day crowd of 32,337 in Angel Stadium on Sunday.
Trailing 4-2 and facing Nationals closer Tanner Rainey, Luis Rengifo sparked the ninth-inning rally with a one-out, pinch-hit walk. Taylor Ward singled to right, advancing Rengifo to third.
Mike Trout struck out on a 97-mph fastball for the second out, but Shohei Ohtani, hitless in three previous at-bats on the day, drove an 88-mph slider off the center-field wall for a two-run double and a 4-4 tie.
Anthony Rendon, the former Nationals third baseman who was facing the team he won a World Series with in 2019, lined a single to center field, and Ohtani beat Victor Robles’ throw home to score the game-winner, the Angels pouring out of their dugout and mobbing Rendon.
The Angels stressed Washington starter Erick Fedde in three of the right-hander’s five scoreless, five-walk, four-strikeout innings but were unable to score after loading the bases with one out in the first and putting two on with one out in the third and fourth.
Max Stassi grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice to end the first. Nationals shortstop Alcides Escobar made a superb backhand diving stop of Rendon’s sharp grounder to the hole and threw to second for the second out in the third, and Jared Walsh grounded out to the mound.
Andrew Velazquez flied to center, and Ward struck out looking on an 89-mph cut-fastball that Fedde located at the top of the zone on the outside corner to end the fourth.
After scoring once on a groundout in the third, Washington pushed its lead to 3-0 in the sixth when Nelson Cruz singled and took third on Maikel Franco’s soft single to right off Angels starter Patrick Sandoval. Lane Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to right, and Escobar hit a two-out single to center off reliever Mike Mayers.
The Angels trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Walsh singled to center, Stassi walked and Brandon Marsh advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt off reliever Josh Rogers.
Angels manager Joe Maddon sent Jack Mayfield up to hit for Wade. Nationals manager Dave Martinez summoned right-hander Kyle Finnegan. Mayfield slapped a 96-mph sinker on the outer half down the right-field line for a two-run single, but Velazquez grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Washington tacked on another run in the seventh when Cesar Hernandez, Juan Sogo and Josh Bell opened with consecutive singles of reliever Oliver Ortega, Bell’s hit giving the Nationals a 4-2 lead and putting runners on first and third with no outs.
But Ortega minimized damaged by striking out Cruz with an 81-mph curve, Yadiel Hernandez with a 94-mph fastball and getting Franco to ground out.
The Nationals loaded the bases with one out in the third when Riley Adams walked, Escobar singled to right field and Cesar Hernandez singled sharply to left.
Soto followed with a shot up the middle that Velazquez, stationed on the second-base side of the bag, made a backhand diving stop of. Velazquez scrambled to his knees and did his best Ernie DiGregorio impersonation, making a 12-foot, around-the-back pass to second baseman Tyler Wade for the force out.
A run scored on the play for a 1-0 Nationals lead, but the web gem prevented a bigger inning, as Sandoval got the next batter, Bell, to ground out.
