Jared Walsh becomes eighth Angels player to hit for the cycle in win over Mets

Jared Walsh became the eighth player in Angels history to hit for the cycle Saturday in the team’s 11-6 win over the New York Mets at Angel Stadium.

Walsh hit a triple in the eighth inning to center field, giving him the first Angels cycle since Shohei Ohtani achieved the feat on June 13, 2019.

After striking out in his first at-bat, Walsh singled in the third inning, doubled in the fifth and hit a solo home run in the seventh before his eighth-inning triple. The Angels led 11-2 through eight innings before a three-run home run by New York’s Khalil Lee cut into the Angels’ wide lead.

Walsh is the third player this season to hit for the cycle — the Mets’ Eduardo Escobar achieved the feat against the San Diego Padres on Monday. Jim Fregosi (1964, ’68) is the only player in Angels history to hit for the cycle twice. Dan Ford (1979), Dave Winfield (1991), Jeff DaVanon (2004), Chone Figgins (2006), Mike Trout (2013) and Ohtani are the other Angels players who’ve hit for the cycle.

Trout homered twice after missing three games because of groin tightness. Ohtani and Andrew Velazquez also hit home runs for the Angels, who’ve won two on their last three games after losing 14 straight. Michael Lorenzen (6-3) allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings to earn the win.

Trout hit a solo homer to left-center field in the third inning, a 425-foot drive that left his bat at 111 mph. He doubled and scored in the fifth and hit a two-run shot to center, another 425-foot drive that left his bat at 107 mph, in the sixth for the 23rd multi-homer game of his career.

Trout, who was pulled with an eight-run lead after six innings, increased his career RBI total to 849, which moved him past Brian Downing and into third on the franchise’s career list behind Garret Anderson (1,292) and Tim Salmon (1,016).

Ohtani added three hits, including an RBI double in the first and a two-run homer in the fifth, as the Angels, donning their beach-themed City Connect uniforms for the first time, won for only the fifth time in 24 games since May 16.

Lorenzen escaped a first-and-third, no-out jam in the fifth inning to preserve a 3-0 lead by striking out Tomas Nido with a 95-mph fastball, getting Brandon Nimmo to line out to first base and striking out Mark Canha with a 95-mph fastball.

The Angels backed Lorenzen with some stout defense, Velazquez sliding into the shortstop hole to snag Nimmo’s third-inning grounder and make a long throw to first for the out, and Walsh ending the third inning and starting the fourth with backhand, diving stops down the first-base line.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who returned Friday night after missing two weeks because of right-wrist inflammation, hit an RBI double in the first inning.

Right fielder Taylor Ward (mild right-hamstring strain) will be activated for Tuesday night’s game in Dodger Stadium.

Barring setback, Tuesday will mark the first time since May 20 that the top four hitters in the lineup — Ward, Trout, Ohtani and Rendon — will start together for the Angels, who lost 14 straight games from May 25 through Wednesday.

“It’s super exciting to be back with everybody,” Ward said before the game. “Hopefully we can get this thing rolling.”