There were bookend home runs and two more on the shelf in between Friday night for the Angels, who beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3, on Mark Trumbo’s walk-off homer off stingy reliever David Pauley to lead off the ninth.

The Angels hadn’t generated much power at home this season, hitting just 22 homers in their first 45 home games and 46 in their first 44 road games.

But Erick Aybar led off the first inning with a homer to right, his sixth of the season. Vernon Wells lined his 13th homer to left in the fourth, and Hank Conger crushed his fifth homer to right to tie the score, 3-3, in the seventh.

Trumbo, who was thrown out trying to steal second one pitch before Conger’s seventh-inning homer, smashed his team-leading 15th homer to straight-away center field in the ninth to give the Angels their 12th win in 15 games.


It came on a 1-and-2 sinking fastball from Pauley, the right-hander who entered with a 5-1 record, 1.38 earned-run average and one homer given up in 452/3 innings.

The last time the Angels had a leadoff and walk-off homer in the same game was June 25, 2000, when Darin Erstad hit both homers against the Minnesota Twins.

“I’m not sure if it was a sinker or changeup, but it was up enough where I could get some air under it,” Trumbo said. “I was trying to drive the ball and get into scoring position. It worked out pretty well.”

Except afterward. While doing a television interview in front of the Angels dugout, Trumbo got a shaving-cream pie shoved into his face. The veterans usually give rookies such treatment, but this came from Conger, a fellow rookie.


Roster move

To make room for outfielder Mike Trout, the Angels optioned pitcher Tyler Chatwood to triple A, but the move was hardly a demotion.

Chatwood (5-5, 3.62 ERA) started Wednesday against Detroit and was not scheduled to pitch against the Mariners.

After the All-Star break, the Angels open play next Friday with a four-game series at Oakland, including a doubleheader next Saturday, and are off the following Monday.


Since they won’t need a fifth starter until July 19 against Texas, the Angels will have Chatwood pitch for Salt Lake on July 12.

Fish fry

There was no shame in Trout going hitless in three at-bats Friday night. Erstad, Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Torii Hunter, Wells and Peter Bourjos combined to go 0 for 21 in their big league debuts.

Trout did make a significant contribution, though, running far into the right-center field gap to catch Franklin Gutierrez’s drive to the wall to end the top of the ninth.


“That was definitely a momentum-shifter,” Trout said. “I had an opportunity to make a big play and did. I told myself I was going to catch it, even if I had to run through the wall.”

Bourjos update

An MRI exam on Bourjos’ right hamstring revealed a slight strain and some bruising but no major tears.

The center fielder will not play this weekend.


mike.digiovanna@latimes.com