Albert Pujols is closing in fast on his 3,000th hit and his fellow Los Angeles Angels are gathering momentum right along with him.
Pujols on Wednesday night reached 2,998 career hits with a home run and a double, while Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning of the Angels’ 10-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Mike Trout and Pujols both homered in the first, while Upton drove in four runs as the Angels earned their second straight win following a 3-9 skid.
Pujols followed Trout’s tape-measure shot with his 620th career homer off Dylan Bundy (1-4) into the bullpens beyond left field. He then got a standing ovation when he legged out a double in the fifth, sliding into second base with a seldom seen spryness.
Trout and Pujols homered in the same first inning for the eighth time, setting a major league record for teammates.
Shortly after Baltimore took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly, Trout hit his 11th homer deep into the left-field stands. The two-time American League Most Valuable Player sent it so long and so far down the line that Statcast could not accurately measure the distance.
Angels starter Andrew Heaney (1-1) yielded five hits and one run over six solid innings to earn his second major league victory since September 2015.
The left-hander missed large portions of the past two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Manny Machado drove in two runs and made another throwing error for the last-placed Orioles, who have lost 14 of 17.
Pinch hitter Jace Peterson had a three-run triple during Baltimore’s five-run ninth against reliever Eduardo Paredes before Jim Johnson ended the rally.
Pujols’ double chased Bundy, who allowed seven hits and five earned runs.
Right before Pujols’ double, Trout drew a walk to set the table for Upton, who delivered a three-run shot to left. Upton also had a walk-off single on Tuesday night right after Trout drew a walk.
Upton’s homer was his first since April 14.
Trout, Pujols and Upton homered in the same game for the first time since uniting with the Angels late last season.
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