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The Angels’ Max Stassi hits a home run during the first inning of Tuesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium. The Angels, led by a solid pitching performance by Shohei Ohtani, won 5-3.
As a hitter, Shohei Ohtani has evolved into the most prolific slugger in the game. He didn’t add to his major leagueleading total of 31 home runs against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, but not for lack of effort. Even his swings and misses elicited oohs and ahhs from the announced crowd of 28,669 at Angel Stadium.
As a pitcher, Ohtani alternated between power and finesse for seven innings in a 5-3 Angels victory. The fourth inning ended when Ohtani got Rafael Devers to ground out on a 99 mph fastball. The fifth inning ended when Ohtani got Danny Santana to fly out on a 68 mph curveball.
When the seventh inning ended, Ohtani received a standing ovation for his 89-pitch effort. It was not flashy; Ohtani’s opponent, Nathan Eovaldi, coaxed more swings and misses from the opposing lineup. But it was more than enough to give the beleaguered bullpen a breather, and give the Angels an uplifting win over the first-place team in the American League East.
Ohtani allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. He got help from center fielder Juan Lagares, who leaped to rob a potential two-run home run from Xander Bogaerts.
The Angels (43-42) will close out their six-game homestand this afternoon with the rubber match against the Red Sox (54-33).
Angels catcher Max Stassi capped a three-run first inning with a two-run home run, his sixth of the season. He finished 3 for 4, a triple short of the cycle. David Fletcher went 4 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest by an American League player this season. Ohtani helped his own cause with an RBI double in the first inning as the Angels racked up 11 hits in the win.
Kiké Hernandez began the game with a double, and scored on a sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez. The Angels never trailed after the first inning. They got a pair of insurance runs off Eovaldi in the sixth inning, on an RBI groundout and an infield single by Fletcher.
After Mike Mayers pitched a scoreless eighth inning, Raisel Iglesias allowed a solo home run to Martinez in the ninth inning en route to his 17th save of the season.