Shohei Ohtani gave up three runs in five innings on the mound and finished a triple shy of the cycle at the plate, but it was a two-run homer by Mickey Moniak that propelled the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday in Anaheim, Calif.
Los Angeles posted its fifth consecutive win, while Seattle lost for the fifth time in six games.
Ohtani matched a season high with five walks while allowing three hits and striking out six. He hit a two-run homer in the third inning, and his pitching duties ended with the score 3-3.
Moniak broke the tie while facing Mariners starter Luis Castillo (4-4) with one on and two outs in the sixth. The Angels right fielder got ahold of a 97 mph fastball on a 1-2 count, hitting it over the fence in right-center for his fifth homer of the year and a 5-3 lead.
The Los Angeles bullpen finished the job. Jacob Webb (1-0) threw two scoreless innings to earn the victory. Carlos Estevez gave up a solo homer to Mike Ford in the ninth but still recorded his 17th save in 17 opportunities.
Ohtani walked three batters in the first inning alone, a total he had not exceeded in 10 of his 12 starts going into Friday’s game. The Mariners got two runs in the frame, both coming in on a Jarred Kelenic home run.
The Angels pulled even in the third inning, thanks to an error by J.P. Crawford. The Seattle shortstop booted a grounder by Taylor Ward with two outs, keeping the inning alive and allowing Ohtani to come to the plate.
Ohtani got ahead in the count 1-0 because of a pitch-clock violation on Castillo, then hit Castillo’s next pitch — a changeup — over the fence in right-center to tie the game at 2-2. It was Ohtani’s team-leading 17th homer of the season.
The Angels took the lead in the fourth inning when Anthony Rendon doubled and scored on a single by Luis Rengifo.
The Mariners got even at 3-3 in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Ty France, but Ohtani escaped further damage by getting Kelenic to ground into an inning-ending double play.
–Field Level Media
