Giavotella's Double In 9th Lifts Angels Over Mariners 4-3
ANAHEIM (AP) — Johnny Giavotella has quickly found a home with the Los Angeles Angels — and shown a flair for the dramatic on more than one occasion.
Giavotella hit an RBI double in the ninth inning and Mike Trout homered, leading the Angels to a 4-3 victory over Seattle on Wednesday night and their second walk-off win in a row over the Mariners.
"I feel very comfortable here. These guys are very easy to play with," said Giavotella, who took over at second base after Howie Kendrick was traded to the Dodgers. "These guys are very talented, but at the same time they're very down to earth and they bring out the best in you. It's fun to be a part of, and it's fun to come to the locker room every day with them."
One night after Carlos Perez punctuated his major league debut with a home run in the bottom of the ninth against Dominic Leone, Giavotella got his first career game-ending hit. It scored Erick Aybar, who bunted into a force play after David Freese drew a leadoff walk from Carson Smith (0-2).
"It's very exciting for us to get two big wins against a Seattle team that's as good as they are," Giavotella said. "It was big for us, especially since we got off to such a slow start to the season. Hopefully we can keep it rolling."
Huston Street (2-0) was credited with the win after his first blown save in 10 opportunities this season. He gave up a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Dustin Ackley in the top of the ninth after Kyle Seager opened the inning with a double and Mike Zunino hit a bloop single.
"For me, if we win, I can go home and sleep easy," Street said. "I really only made one bad pitch in the inning, the pitch to Seager. The other one was a bloop single, and I made every other pitch that I wanted to."
Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson pitched seven innings, allowing two runs and seven hits while striking out four and walking none. It was the fifth time in his first six starts he held an opponent to fewer than three runs.
Wilson, who beat the Mariners 2-0 in his season debut April 7 at Seattle with eight innings of two-hit ball, handed a 3-2 lead to the bullpen before the Mariners rallied again in the late innings to tie the score.
"It is frustrating that we couldn't come away with a victory," outfielder Justin Ruggiano said. "But you can't really sulk about it. It's a long season, and it's sure to turn around pretty soon. I mean, we haven't been clicking on all cylinders by any means."
Seattle lefty Roenis Elias gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings in his third start since joining the rotation following Hisashi Iwakuma's injured right shoulder.
The Angels took a 3-0 lead in the third with three consecutive one-out hits — a triple by No. 9 hitter Collin Cowgill, a double by Kole Calhoun and Trout's seventh homer, which cleared the trees in center field by plenty and was estimated at 441 feet.
Seager, who was 3 for 37 against Wilson coming into his second at-bat of the night, got two runs back in the fourth with his third homer after a one-out single by Robinson Cano. Until then, Wilson had allowed one home run in his first 36 1-3 innings this season.
"It's one of those things where you beat the guy over and over and over again, then he finally just says: 'You know what? Forget it. I'm just going to step in the bucket and swing at the first pitch,'" Wilson said.
Freese made two nice plays at third base in the seventh. He charged in to cut off Logan Morrison's leadoff grounder toward shortstop before throwing him out, then made a diving catch of a line drive toward the hole by Ruggiano.
One batter later, Trout made a sensational diving grab in right-center against Chris Taylor that had Giavotella jumping up and down.
"We were playing to the opposite field against him," Trout said. "Off the bat it was tailing away, and it was tough. I thought if it fell, it was going to be a double no matter what. But I laid down and caught it."
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
