MILWAUKEE -- The curveball hung over the plate, an enticing pitch that Mike Trout quickly turned into a rally-starting solo home run in the eighth inning.
Five batters later, the Los Angeles Angels had secured the lead for good thanks to a run-scoring double by pinch hitter C.J. Cron, avoiding a three-game sweep to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Trout had an RBI triple and sparked the four-run eighth with his home run to right field, and the bullpen shut out the Brewers after the sixth in the Angels' 7-3 victory Wednesday.
"Those were huge at-bats. The breaking ball he hit out to right, not many guys are going to be able to put a swing like that on that pitch," Manager Mike Scioscia said.
Trout has 18 RBI in his last 13 games after the four-time All Star started the season in a 5-for-27 slump.
"Yeah, I feel good at the plate. I just made some slight adjustments. I'm getting the foot down," Trout said. "I'm seeing pitches like I should be and not missing pitches."
Tyler Thornburg (2-1) gave up Trout's home run after throwing the 0-2 curve.
"It all boils down to execution for the pitcher. It's an 0-2 count so Thorny is looking to throw a ball there but he just left it in the strike zone," Manager Craig Counsell said.
It only got worse for Thornburg, who allowed the double to Cron.
Fernando Salas (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning, and Joe Smith threw two shutout innings for his second save.
NATIONALS 13, ROYALS 2 Daniel Murphy finished a triple shy of the cycle, slumping slugger Bryce Harper also went deep and Washington routed host Kansas City. Murphy and Clint Robinson drove in three runs apiece.
RAYS 8, DODGERS 5 Steve Pearce hit one of four Tampa Bay home runs, a go-ahead three-run shot in the sixth inning, and the Rays beat visiting Los Angeles.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MARINERS 9, ATHLETICS 8 Dae-Ho Lee hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh and visiting Seattle rallied for a back-and-forth victory over Oakland.
INDIANS 4, TIGERS 0 Corey Kluber pitched a five-hit shutout and host Cleveland used a four-run fourth inning to defeat Detroit for the fifth consecutive time this season.
ASTROS 16, TWINS 4 Jason Castro, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa all hit home runs as host Houston earned a victory over Minnesota.
YANKEES 7, ORIOLES 0 CC Sabathia pitched seven sharp innings, Brian McCann drove in three runs and visiting New York ended its six-game losing streak by beating Baltimore.
BLUE JAYS 4, RANGERS 3 Russell Martin singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning and Toronto beat visiting Texas.
RED SOX 5, WHITE SOX 2 David Ortiz hit his 509th home run to put visiting Boston ahead to stay in a victory over Chicago.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ROCKIES 2, PADRES 0 Tyler Chatwood pitched three-hit ball for eight innings to lead Colorado over host San Diego.
METS 8, BRAVES 0 Steven Matz allowed two hits over 72/3 innings in his latest stellar start, Lucas Duda hit two of the Mets' four home runs, and New York routed visiting Atlanta.
REDS 7, GIANTS 4 Brandon Phillips, Eugenio Suarez and Zack Cozart homered in a five-run first inning, and host Cincinnati beat Jake Peavy for the first time in a victory over San Francisco.
CUBS 6, PIRATES 2 Ben Zobrist hit a three-run home run, Anthony Rizzo also connected and Jon Lester worked out of two jams to lead visiting Chicago over Pittsburgh for a three-game sweep.
MARLINS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run and drove in two runs for Miami in a victory over visiting Arizona.
CARDINALS 5, PHILLIES 4 Matt Holliday's RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning gave St. Louis a victory over visiting Philadelphia.
Sports on 05/05/2016