Richards, Pujols lead Angels to 4-1 victory over Diamondbacks

KEY MOMENT: Albert Pujols followed Mike Trout’s two-out walk in the sixth inning by driving a 2-and-1 pitch from Jeremy Hellickson over the wall in center field for his 19th home run this season, his 11th in 18 games and the 539th of his career. That turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead for the Angels.

AT THE PLATE: David Freese followed Pujols’ eighth-inning walk with a two-run home run to right field, giving the Angels a 4-1 lead and the third baseman 10 home runs this season, matching his total for 2014. Carlos Perez and Kyle Kubitza each singled twice.

ON THE MOUND: Garrett Richards delivered his second strong start since failing to complete the first inning of an 8-2 loss to New York at Yankee Stadium on June 6, giving up one unearned run and four hits in seven innings, striking out four and walking three to improve to 7-4 with a 3.59 earned-run average. Joe Smith gave up one hit in a scoreless eighth, and Huston Street threw a one-two-three ninth for his 20th save.

IN THE FIELD: Kubitza, the Angels third baseman, made a diving stop of A.J. Pollock’s seventh-inning shot toward the hole, got up and threw wide of first base. But Pujols made a lunging catch while falling to the ground and kept his right foot on the bag for the out.

HOMECOMING: Right fielder Kole Calhoun, who grew up in Phoenix and played at Arizona State, is looking forward to his first big league game in Chase Field on Wednesday night. “I was a big fan, I watched all the games when I was a kid,” he said. “Going in that stadium, playing on that field and not sitting in the stands will be pretty cool.”

DRAFT UPDATE: The Angels agreed to terms with their second- and third-round picks, Georgia high school outfielder Jahmai Jones and Texas A&M right-hander Grayson Long. Jones signed for more than $1 million, which was over his $880,000 suggested slot value, and Grayson signed for his slot value of $548,600. The Angels have signed 26 of 40 picks.

REHAB REPORT: Reserve outfielder Collin Cowgill, on the disabled list since May 26, received a cortisone injection in his sprained right wrist and will not resume baseball activities for at least another week.

UP NEXT: Left-hander Hector Santiago (4-3, 2.59 ERA) will oppose Arizona right-hander Chase Anderson (2-1, 2.82) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m at Chase Field. TV: FS West; Radio: 830.