ANAHEIM, Calif. — Not many teams can claim having a no-hitter, posting a franchise-record losing streak, firing a manager and then having a player hit for the cycle in the span of nearly five weeks.
Well, the Los Angeles Angels can.
Jared Walsh continued one of the wildest spans in franchise history by hitting for the cycle as the Halos rolled to an 11-6 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night. It was the ninth cycle in franchise history and the first since Shohei Ohtani in 2019.
Walsh went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs. He completed the cycle with a two-run triple in the eighth inning after Mets center fielder Khalil Lee failed to make a diving catch.
“I thought about it a little bit, but I just wanted to put the barrel on the ball,” Walsh said about coming up to the plate in the eighth. “I was making pretty good contact, so I felt like if I got something over the plate, I might have a chance to drive it.”
Angels manager Phil Nevin said as soon as he saw Lee try to dive for the ball, he knew Walsh would complete the cycle.
“I yelled ‘cycle’ right when he dove,” Nevin said. “Cycles are more rare than a no-hitter. I’ve only seen one other one.”
It was the seventh cycle in Angel Stadium history and the fifth by an Angels player. Mike Trout was the last player to have a cycle at The Big A in 2013.
Trout was the game’s biggest story until Walsh’s cycle. Trout returned to the lineup and had his 23rd career multi-home run game.
“It’s good to see when he starts to swing it like that. We saw it last year. Once he gets it rolling, it’s fun to watch,” said Trout, who had three hits and drove in three runs.
Trout, who missed three games due to right groin tightness, helped power a five-homer onslaught for the Angels. It is the second time they have gone deep five times this season.
Walsh, who also made a pair of diving stops to prevent Mets hits in the early innings, had a single in the third inning, a double in the fifth and a solo shot in the seventh.
It is the third cycle in the majors this season. The last one was by the Mets’ Eduardo Escobar on Monday in San Diego.
The Angels looked to have plenty of momentum after Reid Detmers‘ no-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 10, but Saturday marked only their eighth win in the past 29 games.
It was their second victory in three games after a franchise-record, 14-game losing streak. Nevin is 2-3 as manager after Joe Maddon was fired Tuesday.
Ohtani and Andrew Velazquez also homered. It is the third time this year and 17th since 2018 that Trout and Ohtani have homered in the same game.
That was enough for Michael Lorenzen (6-3), who allowed one run on six hits and struck out four in 6 1/3 innings.
Mets starter Carlos Carrasco (7-2) lost for the first time since April 27. The right-hander allowed five runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
Pete Alonso had a solo shot in the eighth and Lee had a three-run drive for his first homer in the majors in the ninth for the Mets, who have gone 4-5 on their California road trip.
Trout extended the Angels’ lead to 3-0 in the third inning with a solo shot. He then connected for a two-run shot into the rockpile in center field in the sixth.
He is 6-for-8 with three home runs following a career-worst, 0-for-26 drought.
Ohtani also went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs to extend his hitting streak to eight games. That included a two-run blast to right-center in the fifth inning that made it 5-0.
“I just left those pitches right in the middle,” Carrasco said of the homers to Trout and Ohtani. “You have to attack. Pretty much I tried to do that and got beat.”
Velazquez’s solo shot in the sixth marked the second time in the past three games he has homered.
The Mets came into the game leading the majors with a .295 average with runners in scoring position, but they were 3-for-14 and stranded eight runners.
WEB GEM
On Walsh’s third-inning single, Mets right fielder Jeff McNeil quickly fielded the ball and threw home to get Ohtani out at the plate to end the inning. Catcher Tomas Nido made the tag in plenty of time.
WINNING IN STYLE
It was the Angels’ first game in their Nike MLB City Connect jersey. The alternate uniform blends the franchise’s red motif with nods to retro Southern California’s beach and surf style.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: CF Starling Marte (quad tightness) did some drills before batting practice but missed his third straight game. … RHP Colin Holderman was placed on the injured list, retroactive to Wednesday, with right shoulder impingement. RHP Jake Reed was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
Angels: INF Luis Rengifo came off the paternity list. He struggled in his first game back with two errors.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Taijuan Walker (3-2, 3.28 ERA) is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in a pair of starts against the Angels at The Big A.
Angels: LHP Patrick Sandoval (3-1, 2.81 ERA) has allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of his nine starts.