ANAHEIM, Calif. — In a thrilling matchup, Landen Roupp delivered an impressive performance by striking out a personal best of nine batters over seven innings, enabling the San Francisco Giants to secure a narrow 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night.
Roupp allowed two runs and five hits, issuing just one walk over his 96-pitch outing. Tyler Rogers efficiently closed out the eighth by retiring the side, while Ryan Walker ended the game by inducing a flyout from Nolan Schanuel with a man on second, earning his fifth save of the season.
This win marks Roupp’s second of the year, bringing his record to 2-1. He adapted a crafty strategy by utilizing a 77-mph curveball, which accounted for 12 of his 18 swinging strikes, leading the major league with 42 such strikes from his breaking ball this season.
Despite an otherwise commanding outing, Roupp conceded only two errors, which Mike Trout seized upon to blast a pair of homers.
Trout’s explosive performance resulted in his 28th multihomer game in franchise history, elevating his season tally to eight home runs, placing him in second behind Tyler Soderstrom from the Athletics, who leads with nine.
The Angels’ starter, Kyle Hendricks, yet to record a win this season, allowed three runs off four hits across five innings, with one strikeout and two walks.
Matt Chapman set the tone early for the Giants by launching a changeup 384 feet over the left-field fence in the first inning, granting them a 2-0 lead with his fourth home run of the season. Further extending the lead, Mike Yastrzemski doubled in the third inning and scored on an RBI single by Willy Adames, advancing the Giants to a 3-0 advantage.
In a pivotal moment, Trout nearly hit a third home run in the ninth inning, but Heliot Ramos thwarted it with a skillful leaping catch in left-center.
The Angels have been struggling at the plate, having struck out 89 times while managing only eight walks over the last eight games, covering 71 innings.
For the series finale on Sunday, the Angels will rely on left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who holds a record of 0-3 with a 4.13 ERA. Meanwhile, the Giants will counter with right-hander Justin Verlander, who is looking to improve from a 0-1 start and a 6.75 ERA.