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Zach Neto and rookie Christian Moore help lift Angels to win over Red Sox

Zach Neto hits a solo home run in the first inning of the Angels' 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Zach Neto leads off the game with a home run in the Angels’ 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium on Monday.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

Zach Neto hit a leadoff homer and rookie Christian Moore had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in a four-run eighth inning that sent the Angels to a 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

LaMonte Wade Jr. opened the eighth with a single off reliever Garret Whitlock (5-1). Wade stole second and went to third when catcher Connor Wong’s throw bounced into center field for an error.

Luis Rengifo walked, and Moore hit a sacrifice fly for a 6-5 lead. A single by Neto, who had three hits, and an intentional walk to Mike Trout loaded the bases with two outs. Taylor Ward walked to force in a run, and Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run single made it 9-5.

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While the Dodgers are spending their way to success, the Angels are going all-in with their top prospects. But will the “Angels Way” ever be a winning formula?

Angels left-hander Reid Detmers escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the seventh by striking out Roman Anthony and Trevor Story with 96 mph fastballs. Sam Bachman (1-0) retired the side in order in the eighth to get the win for the Angels (38-40).

Angels closer Kenley Jansen left because of injury after four pitches in the ninth, and Hector Neris got the final three outs.

Handed a 3-0 lead before he took the mound, Boston starter Walker Buehler walked four and hit two batters with pitches during a five-run first. The right-hander finished with a career-high seven walks in four innings. But the Red Sox took him off the hook when Story hit a solo homer off reliever Ryan Zeferjahn for a 5-5 tie in the sixth.

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Boston (40-40) scored three runs on five hits, including Wilyer Abreu’s two-run single, off Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz in the first and later pulled to 5-4 on Wong’s sacrifice fly in the fourth.

Key moment: The Red Sox squandered a chance to tie it in the fifth when they ran into two outs on the bases on the same play. Jarren Duran led off with a double but hesitated on Abraham Toro’s grounder to shortstop.

Duran was tagged out by Moore in a rundown, and the second baseman spun and threw to second to nail Toro trying to advance. Boston manager Alex Cora was ejected — for the second consecutive game — while arguing that Rengifo blocked second base with his knee.

Key stat: Neto has six leadoff homers this season, one shy of the franchise record set by Brian Downing in 1987.

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Up next: Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet (7-4, 2.20 ERA) opposes Angels lefty Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.56) on Tuesday night.

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