Trout, Díaz send Angels past Nationals for 3rd straight win
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mike Trout hit a two-run double and Jhonathan Díaz pitched five strong innings in his first start of the season, leading the surging Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
Shohei Ohtani also drove in a run for the Angels in their third straight victory and 10th in 13 games. The AL West leaders opened a six-game homestand by moving eight games above .500 for the first time since June 2018.
Four relievers combined to finish the Angels’ fifth shutout of the season and second in a row – the first back-to-back shutouts for the normally pitching-poor Halos since July 2016. Raisel Iglesias threw a perfect ninth on six pitches for his seventh save.
Anthony Rendon went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in his first game against the Nationals since leaving them to sign a seven-year, $245 million free-agent deal with the Angels in December 2019.
The Nationals managed four hits while getting shut out for the second time this season. They’ve lost three straight and 12 of 15 as they began the final series of their nine-game road trip.
Díaz (1-0) yielded three hits and four walks in his first shot at a rotation spot with the Angels in place of struggling Jose Suarez, who was sent down to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Díaz, who made his major league debut last September, mostly stayed out of trouble after giving up a double on his first pitch. The Venezuelan left-hander even got Juan Soto to slam his bat on the ground in frustration after striking out on a nasty slider in the fifth.
Joan Adon (1-5) struck out six over five innings of three-hit, three-run ball for the Nats.
Los Angeles led in the first after Taylor Ward drew a leadoff walk and scored on Ohtani’s groundout for the AL MVP’s 14th RBI of the season.
The Angels loaded the bases in the fifth for Trout, who crushed a 108 mph line drive off the base of the center-field wall to put LA up 3-0. Rendon came up moments later with the bases loaded, but softly grounded into a double play.
RENDON’S REUNION
Rendon was the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft by Washington, and he played seven increasingly impressive seasons that culminated in his only All-Star selection in 2019, when he led the majors in RBIs and propelled the Nationals to their first World Series title.
Like most of Angels owner Arte Moreno’s expensive purchases, Rendon hasn’t come close to matching his previous form after joining the Halos. But the Houston native shows flashes of elite talent at the plate while remaining a superb fielder at third base.