ANAHEIM — Ben Joyce continues to show he has what it takes to be a major league closer.
The Angels’ flame-throwing right-hander picked up a five-out save to secure a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Joyce entered with runners at first and second and one out in the eighth, and he needed just two pitches to induce a double play.
In the ninth, Joyce went through the top of the Atlanta order. He struck out Michael Harris II and got Austin Riley on a fly ball. After Marcell Ozuna singled, he got Matt Olson on a groundout.
His performance capped a night in which Angels relievers shut out the Braves over 5⅔ innings after José Soriano got knocked out early.
The Angels were down 2-0 in the fourth and the Braves had two runners on when Soriano was pulled. Even though he hadn’t allowed much damage, he had walked three, hit a batter and allowed three hits. It was just the third time this season he didn’t finish the fourth.
His short start could have made for a bad night, but the Angels’ bullpen came to the rescue. Roansy Contreras, Brock Burke, Hunter Strickland and Matt Moore picked up 12 outs between Soriano and Joyce.
Meanwhile, the Angels were able to get those runs back on one swing of Logan O’Hoppe’s bat in the bottom of the fourth.
O’Hoppe’s two-run homer ended an 0-for-29 slump that stretched back to the first game of the previous trip.
For the Angels, it was the first time they had a hit with a runner in scoring position since the fourth inning on Sunday. In between, they had gone hitless in 22 straight at-bats with a runner in scoring position over parts of five games.
The Angels got the lead in the sixth.
Nolan Schanuel and Niko Kavadas led off the inning with walks, and two outs later Mickey Moniak drove in Schanuel with a double off the fence in right center.
The Angels could have had an insurance run, though. Jo Adell smoked a grounder down the third base line and Riley made a sensational diving stop.
Adell, who has elite speed, still should have been able to beat the throw, extending the inning and driving in another run. However, first base coach Bo Porter was waving Adell around, so Adell changed his path as if to round the base, and he was thrown out at first.
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Thanks to Joyce, the Angels didn’t need the extra run.
They were able to pick up a victory, snapping a three-game losing streak, but the night also included another injury to embattled third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Rendon was hit by a pitch in the second inning and left the game two innings later with a right elbow contusion.
So far this season Rendon has missed time with a torn hamstring and a back injury. He has played in just 41 of the Angels’ 122 games.
More to come on this story.