Shohei Ohtani is Potentially in His Last Week with the Angels; Angels Beat Tigers 7-6 in 10th after Blowing

AP

11:16 JST, July 26, 2023

DETROIT (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had two walks and two runs, Mickey Moniak hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the 10th inning and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 7-6 on Tuesday night after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning.

Ohtani is potentially in his last week with the Angels. The franchise has to decide whether to risk losing the 29-year-old two-way star in free agency or trade him ahead of the trade deadline next Tuesday.

Angels general manager Perry Minasian has said it’s highly unlikely the team will trade Ohtani if it remains in playoff contention. Los Angeles, which has been hovering around .500, has improved its standing in the AL wild-card race by winning six of seven games.

The rebuilding Tigers, meanwhile, will likely trade their starting pitcher from the series opener.

Eduardo Rodriguez gave up four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in what was likely his last appearance with the team.

The 30-year-old lefty can opt out of his contract after this season and that makes him very expendable for a struggling franchise that needs all the assets it can acquire.

Angels closer Carlos Estevez (4-1) pitched the ninth in a non-save situation and earned an improbable win after giving up four unearned runs, allowing Detroit to pull into a 6-all tie to extend the game.

Javier Baez led off the ninth inning, reaching on second baseman Luis Rengifo’s throwing error and scored on Jake Rogers’ single.

With two on and two out, Riley Green hit an RBI double to put two runners in scoring position to give Spencer Torkelson a chance to at least tie the game and he did with a long fly ball that center fielder Moniak tracked down only to let drop to the ground as he twisted off-balance.

Moniak, who extended his hitting streak to a career-long 15 games, made a pair of challenging catches to end the third and begin the fourth innings on deep drives.

Aaron Loup pitched the 10th inning to earn his first save this season. Alex Lange (5-3) gave up a hit and a walk to take the loss.

Angels starter Griffin Canning allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out eight without giving up a walk in five innings. Jose Soriano followed with two perfect innings, striking out three. Matt Moore gave up one hit in the eighth.

The Angels took an early lead and scored two runs in the ninth to earn a four-run cushion they needed.

Mike Moustakas’ two-run double gave Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the first inning and Canning kept Detroit scoreless until Baez hit an RBI single in the fourth.

Taylor Ward’s sacrifice fly, caught by diving left fielder Akil Baddoo, restored the Angels’ two-run lead in the fifth. Ohtani walked and scored in the inning for the second time and struck out twice.