The San Francisco Giants secured a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night at Angel Stadium, driven by a standout pitching performance from Landen Roupp and early offensive support from Matt Chapman’s two-run homer. The win gave San Francisco its second consecutive victory in the three-game weekend series.
Roupp, a 25-year-old right-hander making his fourth start of the season, delivered a career-best outing, recording nine strikeouts over seven innings. He allowed two runs on five hits with one walk across 96 pitches. Much of Roupp’s effectiveness came from his curveball, which generated 12 of his 18 swinging strikes. According to league data, his curveball has produced 42 swinging strikes this season.
Chapman scored in the first inning when he drove a changeup from Angels starter Kyle Hendricks over the left-field fence for a two-run home run. It marked Chapman’s fourth long ball of the year and gave San Francisco an early cushion. In the third, the Giants added another run when Mike Yastrzemski doubled and came home on an RBI single from shortstop Willy Adames, extending the lead to 3-0.
The Angels responded with two solo home runs by Mike Trout, who continues to add to his already prolific power numbers. Trout’s first blast came in the fourth inning, and his second followed in the sixth. The pair of homers marked his career’s 28th multi-home run game, extending his franchise record. Trout has eight home runs this season, tying him for second in Major League Baseball, trailing only Oakland’s Tyler Soderstrom.
Despite Trout’s efforts, the Angels could not complete the comeback. In his third start of the season, Hendricks pitched five innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He struck out one and walked two, dropping the loss to 0-2 on the year.
In the ninth inning, Trout came to the plate with a runner on second and a chance to tie or win the game. He drove a ball deep into left-center field, but San Francisco outfielder Heliot Ramos made a leaping catch near the wall to preserve the lead. Ryan Walker retired the next batter to notch his fifth season save.
The loss continued a troubling trend for the Angels’ offense, which has struck out 89 times and walked just eight times over their last eight games, spanning 71 innings.
The Giants improved their record to 11-13, while the Angels dropped to 11-11. Both teams will conclude the series on Sunday afternoon. San Francisco is expected to send veteran right-hander Justin Verlander (0-1, 6.75 ERA) to the mound, while Los Angeles will counter with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (0-3, 4.13 ERA), who is still in search of his first win of the season.