SF Giants even series as Roupp dominates everyone but Angels’ Mike Trout

Landon Roupp had everyone figured out but Mike Trout Saturday night and that proved to be enough for the Giants in a 3-2 road win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Roupp went a career-high seven innings while improving his record to 2-1. He gave up two runs on solo homers by Trout and nothing else. He walked just one, struck out nine and threw 96 pitches, 62 of them strikes.

“It’s new territory for him, with nine punchouts and only one walk,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters. “He kind of splits the plate with his sinker with his breaking ball going the other way. He threw a few changeups to keep them off balance and he did it in less than 100 pitches, so it’s pretty impressive.”

Tyler Rogers threw a scoreless eighth and Ryan Walker the ninth for his fifth save. Walker’s first order of business? Retire Trout, who threw a scare into the Giants with a deep drive to left that was tracked by Heliot Ramos.

Walker then gave up a single to Jorge Soler before Matt Chapman slipped while fielding a ground ball by Logan O’Hoppe on a 3-0 count, but managed to throw him out from his knees. Chapman caught a spike in the dirt and landed on his hand which is wrapped because of a laceration but limped back to his position and finished the game.

“That could have been bad,” Chapman told NBC Sports Bay Area. “There was a chunk of dirt, I went to fix it and Walker got set super quick . . . sure enough, it’s hit right at me. I fall and land on my hand, but was able to make the play, get the out. I was nervous I was going to give them an extra out and we were going to have to keep playing baseball.”

The final out came on a fly ball to center by Nolan Schaunel with pinch runner Tim Anderson at second.

The Giants, 14-7, can win their fifth series of the season with a win Sunday over the Angels and are 5-4 on a 10-game on a 10-game road trip. Los Angeles fell to 10-10. The Giants return home for seven games against Milwaukee and Texas starting Monday.

Chapman hit a two-run home run in the first, his fourth of the season, against Angels starter and loser Kyle Hendricks (0-2).

Hendricks tops out around 86 miles per hour but compensates with a good changeup and control.

“He might not have the  most overpowering stuff, but he has the ability to pitch (inside), hit the corners and keep you off-balance,” Chapman said. “It’s sneaky and it’s someone that has given me trouble in the past.”

Trout, who struck out three times the previous night against Logan Webb and the first time against Roupp, unloaded in the fourth for his seventh homer. It wasn’t a wall-scraper either, traveling 435 feet and leaving the bat at 115.2 miles per hour on a hanging curve.

Trout wasn’t finished. He hit another solo homer down the left field line against Roupp in the sixth.

Roupp, however said his curve is as good as it’s ever been, and his sinker, or two-seam fastball, offered a pitch that to right handers can either break back over the plate or run in on the hands.

“The sinker was probably the best its been all season,” he said. “I told (pitching coach) J.P. (Martinez) when I’m getting my sinker to the glove side, that’s when I’m the pitcher I know I can be.”

As for giving up the homers to Trout, Roupp was philosophical.

“As competitors, you know I don’t want to do that, and that’s the guy I want to get out the most,” Roupp said. “But you’ve just got to learn from it and move on.”

After being shut the previous night, Chapman got the Giants on the board in the top of the first with his blast to left. It came on an 0-1 pitch, a changeup above the belt that Hendricks probably regretted the moment it left his hand.

The Giants led 3-0 in the third when Willy Adames singled to right off a Hendricks changeup to drive in Mike Yastrzemski, who hit one-out double to right. Adames, who was 6-for-32 on the road trip, was thrown out in rundown as Yastrzemski scored.

NOTES

— Melvin left Wade in to hit against the left-handed Reid Detmers and the first baseman hit a line shot to shortstop Zach Neto for an out. Wade, Melvin said, would give way to David Villar at first base against the left-handed Yusei Kikuchi (0-3, 4.13) on Sunday. Justin Verlander (0-1, 6.75) will start for the Giants.

Villar was called up from Triple-A Sacramento as a replacement for Casey Schmitt, who went on the injured list with with a strained oblique for the Giants’ first roster move of the season.