Zach Neto hits tiebreaking homer in the 8th inning as Angels beat the Pirates 4-3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Zach Neto hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Thursday night to avoid a three-game series sweep.

Neto, who missed the first three weeks of the season recovering from right-shoulder surgery, lined an 81 mph sweeper from Pirates reliever Chase Shugart (1-1) over the wall in left to snap a 3-all tie and finished with three hits.

Angels closer Kenley Jansen, with a runner taking off from first base, retired Pittsburgh slugger Oneil Cruz on a 119.6-mph line drive to right fielder Mike Trout to end the game. Jansen earned his sixth save of the season and the 453rd of his career.

Cruz homered for the second straight game, leading off Thursday with a shot to right. Andrew McCutchen doubled, took third on Joey Bart’s single and scored on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ fielder’s-choice grounder to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh first baseman Matt Gorski, recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day, led off the second by hitting a 434-foot homer off Angels left Tyler Anderson to left-center for a 3-0 lead.

Gorski was the first Pittsburgh player to homer in his first big-league at-bat since Starling Marte against Houston in 2012.

The Angels tied the score at 3 in the span of five pitches in the fourth. Trout lined a triple to right, Taylor Ward hit an RBI single to center and Logan O’Hoppe lofted a two-run homer to right.

Ryan Zeferjahn (2-0) picked up the win.

Key moment

The Pirates threatened to extend a 3-0 lead when they put runners on second and third with one out in the third. But Anderson got Hayes to fly to shallow right and struck out Alexander Canario to start a string in which he retired 11 straight batters.

Key stat

Ward’s RBI single in the fourth snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak dating to the fourth inning Tuesday night.

Up next

Right-hander Paul Skenes (2-2, 2.87 ERA) will start for the Pirates on the road against the Dodgers on Friday. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (0-2, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Angels on the road against the Twins.

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