Anaheim, California – The Houston Astros didn’t even need to lift their bats from their shoulders to chase Shohei Ohtani from another wild performance in the second inning.
Almost four hours later, Ohtani provided another worry for Angels fans when the two-way star said he felt discomfort in his pitching arm after his first home mound start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Alex Bregman hit an RBI single in the 11th inning, Blake Taylor escaped two bases-loaded jams to earn his first major league victory in his hometown stadium, and the Astros rallied for a 6-5 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
Before those two dramatic extra innings, Ohtani started the day by issuing five walks and getting only five outs before getting pulled from his second rough start of the season. Afterward, the Angels sent Ohtani to get an MRI on his pitching arm, raising concern for a player who has worked his way back diligently from elbow ligament replacement surgery in late 2018.
“That first inning was outstanding,” said Angels manager Joe Maddon, who apparently wasn’t aware Ohtani was headed for an MRI during his postgame interview. “Velocity was up. He looked very comfortable. I saw some positive signs with him.”
Those positive signs won’t mean much if Ohtani has another injury setback. Any sustained absence would be a double blow to the struggling Angels, who use Ohtani as their designated hitter on most days between his pitching starts.
After a strong eight-pitch first inning, Ohtani walked his first three batters of the second. He struck out Houston’s next two hitters, but walked Dustin Garneau and George Springer to force in runs.
Maddon pulled Ohtani after he had thrown 42 pitches in the second and his velocity flagged. Before the injury news, it looked like mild progress: Ohtani failed to get an out last weekend in Oakland while facing six batters in his first start since 2018.
Bregman also homered for the Astros, and Josh Reddick delivered the tying RBI single in the ninth as Houston took two of three at Angel Stadium.
Taylor (1-0), an Orange County native, retired Brian Goodwin on a soft fly to center with the bases loaded to end his first major league victory.
“It’s a funny thing to go out to an old place I used to watch games and get a win for the other team,” said Taylor, a Dana Hills High School product. “Angel Stadium will have a special place in my heart. So many childhood memories, but now (one) from my adult life. Hopefully I have a long career and play many teams here.”
Albert Pujols hit a grand slam for the Angels in the third inning. The shot off Josh James was his 658th career homer, pulling him within two of Willie Mays for fifth place in baseball history.
But the Astros’ injury-plagued pitching staff came up big for the rest of the day.
“We got some great work from our bullpen,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “We needed this game badly. We certainly didn’t want to go below .500. We’re all tired. We need a day off tomorrow.”
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times