Zach Neto's walk-off homer propels Angels past A's, ends 6-game skid

Jeff Fletcher, The Orange County Register on May 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ANAHEIM — The Angels turned a miserable night into a celebration quickly.

Zach Neto hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the ninth inning to give the Angels a 2-1 victory over the Athletics on Monday night, snapping their six-game losing streak.

Neto stood at the plate and watched as the ball sailed over the center field fence, and then he triumphantly slammed his bat to the ground, unleashing weeks of frustration.

Just moments earlier, the Angels had been staring at the possibility of getting no-hit for the first time since Sept. 11, 1999, which would have ended the sport’s longest active streak.

Adam Frazier led off the ninth with a single against right-hander J.T. Ginn, the Angels’ first hit of the night. Three pitches later, Neto homered.

The Angels (17-31) were able to squeak out a victory despite their seventh straight game scoring two runs or fewer, the longest streak for the franchise since 2003.

They got exceptional pitching from starter Walbert Ureña, who worked six innings, and reliever Sam Bachman, who didn’t give up a run in his two innings.

Ryan Zeferjahn gave up the game’s first run in the top of the ninth inning, allowing two hits and then walking two in a row. Right-hander Chase Silseth entered with the bases loaded and slugger Nick Kurtz at the plate, and he got him to hit into a double play, preserving the 1-0 deficit.

While all of that was going on, a boisterous group of fans gathered in the seats beyond the left field bullpen. They took off their shirts and led a series of “sell the team” chants, voicing their anger with owner Arte Moreno about a franchise that continues to find new lows.

The emergence of Ureña continues to be one of the few positive developments in this otherwise bleak season.

Ureña, 22, pitched six scoreless innings, allowing four hits. He walked two and struck out four.

Ureña now has a 2.70 ERA in 33⅓ innings, including a 2.84 mark in six starts. He allowed more than two runs in only one of his starts.

The Angels might have even gotten an extra inning out of Ureña if he hadn’t needed to throw some extra pitches because of mistakes from his infielders.

In the third inning, Shea Langeliers hit a routine grounder to third baseman Yoán Moncada with two outs. Moncada fielded it cleanly but hesitated before throwing it, allowing Langeliers to beat the throw.

That brought A’s slugger Nick Kurtz to the plate with two runners on. It took Ureña seven pitches, but he retired Kurtz on a pop-up.

An inning later, Moncada fielded a slow bouncer up the line and then bobbled it, allowing another infield hit. The ball seemed to be on its way foul before Moncada touched it. Shortstop Zach Neto then simply whiffed on a bouncer up the middle. Ureña finally got out of that inning without a run scoring, too.

Ginn was trying for the first no-hitter in the majors since September 2024. He threw 105 pitches, 64 for strikes. He struck out a career-high 10, walked one and hit Neto with a pitch in the sixth.

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