Anaheim, California – Shohei Ohtani blasted his 15th home run of the season Tuesday as the Los Angeles Angels ran away with an 11-5 win over the Texas Rangers.
Batting second as designated hitter, the two-way star jumped on a 3-2 cutter from righty Brett de Geus and drilled it over right field for a three-run homer that put the Angels up 9-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
The shot flew off Ohtani’s bat at 188 kilometers per hour, making it the hardest-hit homer by an Angel since measurement of exit velocity began in 2015, according to MLB.com.
Ohtani capped a six-run fourth for the Angels with the home run, his first since May 18. The left-handed batter moved into a tie for second in the MLB home run race with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. and Texas’ Adolis Garcia. Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads with 16.
The 26-year-old Ohtani also drew a pair of walks and struck out twice in a 1-for-3 outing.
Justin Upton opened the scoring in the first inning of the American League West contest at Angel Stadium with a solo homer against Texas starter Yang Hyeon Jong (0-2).
Angels batters chased the South Korean left-hander with one out in the bottom of the fourth and the home side leading 5-1.
Jared Walsh went 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs for the Angels, while Upton drove in a pair of runs. Southpaw Andrew Heaney (2-3) got the win after a 5⅔ inning start in which he fanned five and allowed three runs.
After tentatively scheduling Ohtani to make his seventh pitching start on Friday, the Angels are pushing him up a day to face the Athletics in Oakland on Thursday.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times