ANAHEIM, Calif. — Besides Jo Adell, the Angels’ hottest hitter since the calendar turned to June has been Travis d’Arnaud. 

After starting the season hitting just .195 in his first 26 games, d’Arnaud has worked his way to being called off the bench in high-leverage situations for the Angels. And on Friday night, his name was called off the bench in the ninth inning in a tie ballgame with runners on first and second. 

d’Arnaud quickly went down 0-2 in the count, but fouled off a couple of pitches and worked the count back to even. The 2-2 offering was lined into left field to score Logan O’Hoppe to give the Angels (46-48) a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks (46-49).

“I was just trying to hit the ball on the barrel,” d’Arnaud said. “Luckily, I got a sweeper that didn’t hit the ground and was able to float it over the third baseman’s head for a base hit.”

Since June 1, d’Arnaud was hitting .278 with a .903 OPS before Friday night’s walk-off single. 

“I think he’s just gotten his legs under him, comfortable at the plate, seeing (at-bats) and getting repetition,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “He’s doing great.”

One of the biggest differences in d’Arnaud’s game since June is that he’s been more selective.

Before June, d’Arnaud swung at 76.6% of the pitches he saw inside the strike zone and since June 1, he’s swung at 71.6% of them. By being more selective, he’s significantly raised his contact rate on pitches inside the zone from 77.7% before June to 85.3% since.

d’Arnaud credits his success to simplifying his approach.

“I think early on, I was pressing too much to hit home runs,” d’Arnaud said. “If a runner was on first, I was trying to hit a grand slam when all I had to do was hit the ball on the barrel, take my single, and not try to do too much. That’s where my mind’s been, and that’s why I’m getting rewarded.”

d’Arnaud hit just one home run before June. Since his adjustment of simplifying things, he’s hit five in 30 fewer plate appearances.

The recent hot streak adds more value that d’Arnaud brings to the Angels, given his veteran presence and pitch-calling abilities behind the plate.

Before Friday night’s game, the Angels’ pitching staff held a 4.32 ERA with d’Arnaud behind the plate and a 4.86 ERA with O’Hoppe behind the plate.

“(d’Arnauds’) just an awesome human being,” Tyler Anderson said. “Everyone in this clubhouse loves him. He’s the guy that helps keep this team light. Every day he’s in a great mood. Keeps everyone laughing, smiling and when situations like tonight, when it gets big, he just stays calm and has fun and has good at-bats, which is always great to have as a teammate.”