BALTIMORE — Count Kurt Suzuki’s lineup switch as a success.
On the day the Angels’ manager moved slumping Zach Neto out of the leadoff spot and into the cleanup spot, Neto hit a three-run homer to lift the Angels to a 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Wade Meckler, who was moved into the top spot in the lineup, reached base twice and scored both times Thursday.
The Angels (44-71) have been struggling to score runs. Plenty of hitters were scuffling, including Neto. The shortstop was in a 5-for-40 slump with 16 strikeouts, leading into Suzuki’s lineup switch. He had not hit a homer since July 5.
“Just trying to mix things up a little bit,” Suzuki said before the game.
In Neto’s first trip to the plate in the second inning, he hit a popup that shortstop Jackson Holliday lost in the sun, so he got a single. The Angels loaded the bases with no outs but didn’t score.
Neto came up again in the third, after Meckler singled and Nolan Schanuel walked.
This time he hit a 411-foot homer over the center-field fence, giving him his third consecutive 20-homer season and putting the Angels up 3-0.
Neto said the monthlong homer drought was not because he was pressing to get No. 20, a milestone he had reached in the previous two years.
“In the past, especially my first time hitting 20 homers, it’s definitely pressure to try to get there and get over that hump,” Neto said. “But I feel like over the years, it’s just kind of like, ‘All right, how do I maintain it? How do I maintain it?’ There’s always that thought.
‘You know, you always look up and you see how many homers you have, what your average is and stuff. But that was the least of my worries about if I was going to hit 20. There’s 50 games left, so at some point (it was going to happen). But I’m just excited that we got the team win and I helped contribute.”
Although the Angels ended up with only four runs, they gave themselves plenty of opportunities with nine hits and five walks. They were 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.
The Orioles didn’t do much better with their scoring opportunities against Angels right-hander Ryan Johnson.
Johnson brought a 7.63 ERA into the game, but the trade of José Soriano allowed him to get another opportunity to start.
In the first three innings, Johnson allowed eight baserunners, which included five walks. The only run he allowed was on a solo homer.
The Angels’ defense bailed him out by turning two double plays. Catcher Moises Ballesteros also threw out a runner trying to steal second.
“I think it was just kind of psyching myself out a little bit at the beginning, especially after walking the first batter, and then got timid, on my heels, don’t walk another,” Johnson said. “Got back in the dugout. I was like ‘OK gotta flush that.’ Whatever. Go at ’em. Be strong. Even the the walks that I had moving on, not what I want, but I had some misses that I was liking.”
Johnson then retired five straight hitters in the fourth and fifth before giving up a single to Pete Alonso, ending his day.
“I feel like those those last two innings there, that’s huge to be able to carry that into the next next outing because that’s where I was really my best and got to my rhythm and my body was moving better,” Johnson said. “I had a feel for the zone and it was nice.”
It was only the third time in Johnson’s 10 starts that he allowed fewer than three runs.
After that, the Angels got through the rest of the game with a patchwork bullpen. They’d traded away four relievers and placed another one on the injured list in the previous eight days. Hard-throwing right-hander Ben Joyce was unavailable because the Angels aren’t going to use him on back-to-back days while he’s just coming back from shoulder surgery.
Left-hander Mitch Farris (three outs), right-hander Luke Murphy (four) and left-hander Tayler Saucedo (two) got the ball to Samy Natera Jr., who recorded the final four outs for his second save.
In the eighth, Natera got the final out on a nice play from Ballesteros. A wild pitch ricocheted hard off the backstop, right back to Ballesteros, who flipped it to Natera to get the runner trying to score.
Between that play, the throw and the way he handled the pitchers, Ballesteros made a good impression on Suzuki with his first game behind the plate with his new team.
“I thought he did good,” Suzuki said. “I thought he was very composed. I thought he followed the game plan really well. It’s the opportunity. He’s a young guy and looking for an opportunity and we’re going to give it to him. I thought he did a great job.”