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AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, left, celebrates in the dugout with starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
By GREG BEACHAM / AP Sports Writer
8:46 JST, May 23, 2022
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a 443-foot leadoff home run and Mike Trout added a solo shot while getting three hits and two RBIs in the Los Angeles Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Patrick Sandoval (3-1) struck out seven as he pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning for the Angels, who won the final two games of the weekend series after a four-game skid.
Ohtani hit his ninth home run on Cole Irvin’s second pitch, and Trout added an RBI single in the second and his 12th homer in the seventh. Trout, who also doubled in the first, struck out in the eighth to fall a triple short of the cycle for the second time in six days.
Just 12 days after Angels rookie Reid Detmers threw a no-hitter at the Big A, Sandoval took a no-hitter into the fifth and a two-hitter into the eighth. The surging left-hander with a formidable changeup beat the A’s for the second straight Sunday, pitching a combined 13 2/3 innings of eight-hit, two-run ball against Oakland.
Kevin Smith had two hits for the A’s, and he got credit for a leadoff double in the eighth when right fielder Tyler Wade lost his easy flyball in the sun. Smith scored Oakland’s only run moments later on Cristian Pache’s bloop single.
Ryan Tepera replaced Sandoval one batter later and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to strand two runners. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 10th save.
Irvin (2-2) yielded three runs on eight hits over six innings for Oakland, which has lost six of eight. The graduate of Anaheim’s Servite High School struck out four with two walks.
Ohtani came through early with a shot to dead center, clearing the ficus trees that grow behind the outfield fence. The homer was the AL MVP’s ninth of the season and his second leading off a game.
Ohtani could have had another RBI in the second, but Kurt Suzuki didn’t try to tag up on Ohtani’s 294-foot fly to right with the bases loaded. Trout came through with a dribbling grounder against the shift that scored Suzuki anyway.
Sandoval retired his first 10 batters before Chad Pinder reached on Luis Rengifo’s error in the fourth. Smith got the A’s first hit on a bouncing single to center with one out in the fifth.
Trout walked and eventually scored his 1,001st career run on Brandon Marsh’s bloop single to center in the fifth. Trout then homered down the left field line two innings later.
