Major League Baseball
LA Angels 5, Chi. White Sox 3
When: 9:07 PM ET, Saturday, April 3, 2021
Where: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California
Temperature: 71°
Umpires: Home - David Rackley, 1B - Edwin Moscoso, 2B - Larry Vanover, 3B - Marvin Hudson
Attendance: 12043

Justin Upton's two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning snapped a tie and lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.

Upton's game-winner capped a three-run rally in the eighth, which included an RBI triple from Jared Walsh that tied the game at 3-3.

Walsh, getting his first start of the season in place of Albert Pujols at first base, had two hits. Second baseman David Fletcher also had two hits for Los Angeles.

White Sox DH Yermin Mercedes not only had three hits and drove in two runs, but the 28-year-old rookie also did something that had not been done in more than 120 years.

Following his 5-for-5 performance on Friday, Mercedes had a home run, single and double in his first three at-bats Saturday. He became the first player since 1900 to start the season with hits in his first eight at-bats.

He failed to make it nine straight when Angels reliever Tony Watson retired him on a flyout to center in the eighth inning.

The Angels began the eighth inning down 3-2, and White Sox reliever Evan Marshall began the inning by striking out Mike Trout. But Anthony Rendon singled and scored on Walsh's triple to tie the game.

Upton then got ahold of a changeup from Marshall on a 1-0 pitch for his first homer of the season and a 5-3 Angels lead. Junior Guerra (1-0) got the final four outs for the Angels to earn the victory over Marshall (0-1).

Mercedes homered in the second inning off Angels starter Alex Cobb, giving the White Sox a 1-0 lead.

The Angels responded in the third inning against White Sox starter Lance Lynn, benefitting from two White Sox errors on one play, a fielding error by center fielder Luis Robert and a throwing error by right fielder Adam Eaton. Los Angeles scored two runs in the inning for a 2-1 lead.

Chicago rallied to tie the game in the fourth on an RBI single by Robert, and took the lead, 3-2, on Mercedes' RBI double in the sixth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. White Sox   LA Angels
Lance Lynn Player Alex Cobb
No Decision W/L No Decision
4.2 IP 6.0
6 Strikeouts 7
6 Hits 8
0.00 ERA 4.50
Hitting
Chi. White Sox   LA Angels
Yermin Mercedes Player David Fletcher
3 Hits 2
2 RBI 0
1 HR 0
7 TB 2
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. White Sox 9 1 13 .257 16 10 3 3 0 2
LA Angels 9 1 14 .273 13 11 4 2 1 0