To understand the beauty of a Shohei Ohtani start is to anticipate something amazing will happen, even when no fancy records or flashy numbers occur. In his start against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Angel Stadium, Ohtani was just another ace with a quality start — yet he was still the star of the show.
Ohtani pitched six innings of two-hit, one-run, three-walk baseball, striking out nine in the Angels’ 4-2 win.
He walked one batter in each of the first three innings, giving up his first hit and only run in the third — an RBI double by Carlos Correa. Ohtani had his first one-two-three inning in the fourth, striking out two along the way. He ended his start by striking out four consecutive batters.
It was an improvement over his recent starts — he gave up three or more earned runs in each of his four previous outings. It marked the first time since April 11 that Ohtani gave up three or more walks.
At the plate, Ohtani went one for three, reaching base on a single, an intentional walk and a fielder’s choice. He was left stranded each time.
Mickey Moniak tried to make a home run-robbing catch in the top of the eighth, toppling over the left-field wall into the seats. He appeared to get a piece of the baseball but was unable to make a play on Alex Kirilloff’s home run.
The Angels’ Jared Walsh collected his first hit since returning from the injured list Saturday. His single in the third allowed Hunter Renfroe, who reached on a single, to move into scoring position at third. Gio Urshela’s sacrifice fly scored Renfroe and tied the score 1-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Angels took the lead. Zach Neto and Moniak hit back-to-back, momentum-changing doubles. Neto moved Matt Thaiss into scoring position, and Moniak’s hit drove in Thaiss and Neto to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.
The Angels extended their lead in the eighth when Thaiss drove in Urshela on an RBI double.
Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth, collecting his 12th save of the season.
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