ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Los Angeles Angels had no answer for red-hot Colorado Rockies slugger Brenton Doyle when it mattered most Wednesday night, July 31.
Doyle capped an impressive July with a towering home run in the eighth inning, Ezequiel Tovar extended his hitting streak to 17 games, and the Rockies beat the Angels 2–1 to snap a five-game losing streak.
Logan O’Hoppe hit a solo shot in the fifth inning for the Angels, who are 2–4 on their current homestand.
Doyle, who missed Tuesday’s game due to a bruised right index finger, connected on a slider from Hans Crouse (4–2) that went 431 feet into the left-field stands beyond the bullpens to put the Rockies back on top.
“I know that guy is kind of slider-heavy. Just wanted to get something a little elevated and something I could handle,” Doyle said.
It was Doyle’s 11th homer in July, tied with Oakland’s Brent Rooker for most in the major leagues, and it was his 19th extra-base hit, which led all of baseball.
Doyle’s .337 batting average (29 for 86) during the month was third in the National League. He led the league in slugging (.791) and on base-plus-slugging percentage (1.191).
It is quite a turnaround for Doyle, who hit .223 in June and was mired in a 5 for 40 slump entering July.
“Those lows in the season are what kind of open your eyes and tell you that you have to work on something. I’m thankful that streak happened because if it didn’t happen, I might not be where I’m at right now,” Doyle said.
Rockies Manager Bud Black said he hopes Doyle will get National League Player of the Month recognition after becoming the first Colorado player to have double-digit homers in July since Carlos Gonzalez in 2015.
“He’s deserving,” Black said. “It’s a great sign of stability and self confidence that you have to keep going and keep the faith and know your talent is going to get you out of [a slump].”
Kyle Freeland (3–4) won for the third time in his past four starts and tied his season-high in going seven innings. The left-hander allowed one run and six hits while striking out six.
Victor Vodnik retired the Angels in order in the ninth for his fourth save in six opportunities.
Tovar got the Rockies’ first hit with a one-out single to left in the first inning. He advanced to second when Ryan McMahon drew a walk with two outs, and scored on Kris Bryant’s RBI single to left field.
Freeland had allowed only two hits and faced the minimum through four innings before O'Hoppe lined a shot over the wall and off the auxiliary message board in right field to even it at 1–all in the fifth inning.
It was O'Hoppe’s 15th homer, which ranks third among major-league catchers.
Angels starter Davis Daniel was solid. In his first big-league start since July 8, the right-hander allowed one run and five hits, with one walk and five strikeouts. Daniel was sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake after he gave up 12 runs (11 earned) in two starts after throwing eight shutout innings in his first major-league start on June 27 against Detroit.
