Juan Rivera delivers a win for the Angels
It was an 85-mph slider, and Juan Rivera was able to track the path of the pitch just fine.
The left fielder, who recently sat out six consecutive games because of blurry vision, hammered the offering from Seattle Mariners reliever Brian Sweeney over the wall in left-center field for a seventh-inning solo home run Saturday night at Angel Stadium, lifting the Angels to a 7-6 victory.
Rivera had three hits, finishing a triple short of the cycle, on a night the Angels can only hope portends a better second half for a player who batted .240 with 10 homers and 34 runs batted in before the All-Star break.
“He’s definitely swinging the bat better as we came out of the break and he’s very important to us,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hopefully, he’s going to continue to stay on this course.”
Mike Napoli also homered, and Kevin Frandsen and Reggie Willits each drove in two runs to help the Angels amass 10 hits, their third consecutive game in double digits in that category.
The Angels have scored 18 runs in winning the first three games of their initial series after the All-Star break, already surpassing the 14 runs they tallied while losing six of seven games on a recent trip.
The onslaught has helped them close to within 31/2games of the first-place Texas Rangers in the American League West while improving to 10-2 against Seattle this season.
“I think everyone at the same time needed that break,” Frandsen said. “We’ve come back with a little bit of fire and some fresh legs, and hopefully we can keep this rolling.”
The offensive barrage helped the Angels overcome a shaky start by Joe Saunders in which the left-hander gave up five runs — four earned — in six innings.
Saunders departed with a 6-5 lead that was squandered by Kevin Jepsen (2-1), who gave up Josh Bard’s tying solo home run in the seventh inning.
Angels setup man Fernando Rodney escaped a self-induced jam in the eighth inning, striking out Justin Smoak to end the inning after Jose Lopez had doubled with one out and advanced to third base on Milton Bradley’s groundout.
Brian Fuentes walked Ryan Langerhans leading off the ninth inning before Bard grounded into a double play and Jack Wilson struck out to give the Angels closer his 18th save and second in as many nights.
The Angels’ Nos. 5-7 hitters blistered Seattle pitching, combining for nine hits in 12 at-bats with six runs and four RBIs. It was a welcome resurgence for a part of the order that had been a black hole on the recent trip.
Rivera was in the middle of all three Angels rallies, hitting a single to left field as part of a four-run second inning and hitting a double to left to spark a two-run third inning before connecting for his first home run since June 12.
It was Rivera’s first three-hit game since April 9 and could signal the start of something special for a player who has been significantly better over the season’s second half in his career, hitting .301 with 68 homers as opposed to .257 with 40 homers in the first half.
Rivera left the clubhouse before reporters could reach his locker, leaving his teammates to speak for him.
“Juan’s a great hitter and I think his track record kind of speaks for itself,” Willits said. “Once he gets going, he gets hot. We hope he gets hotter and hotter.”
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