Ohtani hits 37th homer as Angels rally to prevail over Rockies 8−7

Shohei Ohtani continued his power display on Wednesday, crushing a three-run home run, and Phil Gosselin had a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning for the Los Angeles Angels, who rallied for an 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

The Angels trailed early but used a five-run fourth inning to jump ahead 6-3 and added another run in the fifth for a 7-3 advantage.

The Rockies rallied with three runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie the game at 7-all, but Gosselin’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth scored David Fletcher to set the final margin.

Angels closer Raisel Iglesias (7-4) blew a save opportunity for the fifth time when he gave up a game-tying RBI single to Brendan Rodgers in the top of the eighth. He still earned the victory by recording five outs.

The Angels won for the fifth time in their last seven games as Wednesday’s victory came without three of their better offensive performers in Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Jared Walsh, who are all on the injured list.

“It’s interesting, it’s wonderful and when we get the whole band back together it’s gonna be fun to watch,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “(Ohtani) is definitely inspirational to the whole group.”

Ohtani’s line-drive blast to right field off Rockies reliever Jesus Tenoco was his Mlb-leading 37th of the season and his third in the last four games, including consecutive contests against the Rockies. It gave the Angels a 4-3 lead in the fourth.

Justin Upton and Max Stassi also hit home runs for the Angels, who have won consecutive series and five of their last seven games. Los Angeles starter Andrew Heaney gave up three runs on four hits over six innings with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Trailing 7-3, the Rockies rallied with three runs in the seventh inning on a two-run double from Raimel Tapia, while Tapia scored on a Fletcher throwing error when the Angels failed to turn a double play.

Tapia had three hits for Colorado, while Trevor Story had a two-run home run in the first inning. Playing amid constant rumors as the trade deadline approaches, Story hit his 13th home run of the season, two days after he was hit on the back of the left-hand by a 97-mph fastball from Ohtani.

“I felt real good tonight after I made adjustments in the batting cage,” Tapia said through a team translator. “Luckily there were some adjustments out there and I felt great.”

Tinoco gave up five runs on five hits and one walk in 1 1/3 innings of work as the Rockies were forced into a bullpen game after scheduled starter Chi Chi Gonzalez was placed on the COVID-19 injured list earlier in the day. Carlos Estevez (2-3) gave up the Angels’ run in the eighth.