OC Register: Angels end losing streak behind strong outing from Shohei Ohtani

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — Shohei Ohtani and some good situational hitting snapped the Angels’ losing streak.

Ohtani pitched 7-2/3 innings in the Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, ending a five-game losing streak that was mostly the result of an anemic offense.

The Angels still didn’t hit much, managing just four hits, but they took advantage of seven walks and they scored four runs on outs. That provided enough cushion for Ohtani, who gave up two runs in the longest outing of his young big league career.

Throwing 110 pitches, seven more than in his last outing, Ohtani struck out nine and walked one. Ohtani improved to 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA through the first seven starts of his career.

Ohtani had a little trouble settling in when the game began. It took him 20 pitches to get through the first, although the one baserunner was via a walk. He was also throwing his fastball around 93-94 mph, which is slower than his average but about the way he’s been starting games.

Ohtani gave up a double in the second, and then a first-pitch homer to Johnny Field in the third.

After that, he retired 12 straight hitters, and his fastball was up to 97-99 mph. In the seventh, the Rays began to get to him again, with two singles and two fly balls to the warning track. Ohtani nonetheless got out of the inning with his 99th pitch.

Scioscia, somewhat surprisingly, let him go out for the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double that eventually came around to score. Ohtani was pulled with two outs after allowing his second hit of the inning.

Rookie Justin Anderson got he final out of the eighth, and then Blake Parker worked the ninth. Parker, who began the season as the Angels closer, may have worked his way back into that role with improved results in the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the Angels are still waiting for their bats to come back to life after a quiet week.

Facing a conga line of Rays relievers as they went with an unconventional approach, the Angels didn’t get a hit until the fourth.

The managed two runs before that, when pitcher Matt Andriese made an error on a comebacker, then walked a batter. A wild pitch moved up both runners, and the Angels got a run on Luis Valbuena groundout and one on a Martín Maldonado fly ball.

They manufactured one more in the fifth. Mike Trout walked, stole second and third, and scored on a shallow fly ball. Trout walked again and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Maldonado added the final run with a homer in the eighth.

More to come on this story.

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