Ohtani K's 12, drives in two as Angels top Astros, 6-0
All six of the Angels runs came in the first inning in their Wednesday afternoon victory over the Houston Astros, kickstarted by none other than reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani, who also pitched six shutout innings on the day.
The top of the first inning started with an Ohtani walk, the first of three times he would get on base Wednesday.
He was driven in a few batters later, the first of the Halos six-run outburst, when Anthony Rendon drew a bases loaded walk. Another run scored shortly after on a Brandon Marsh single to right field.
Tyler Wade drew another walk with bases loaded a few batters later, making it 3-0 Angels.
Things went from bad to worse for the Astros from there, when Anthony Rendon scored on what would have been the third out of the inning on an error from first baseman Yuliesky Gurriel.
Back up again after hitting through the lineup, Ohtani slapped a double to deep left field, scoring another two runs, giving the Angels all they needed to secure the victory, 6-0.
Houston starter Jake Odorizzi (0-2, 9.00 ERA) was pulled after just 0.2 innings, allowing two hits for six runs - three earned - and four walks.
After capping off the huge inning, Ohtani then took the mound, where he pitched five perfect innings, striking out nine hitters in that span - six of them in a row.
He ended up allowing a single to Houston catcher Jason Castro in the bottom of the sixth, what would end up being their lone hit of the contest.
Ohtani (1-2, 4.40 ERA) would get pulled after the sixth, finishing the game with a season-high 12 strikeouts and one walk allowed.
The Angels bullpen closed out the game with three perfect innings, two of which came from Ryan Tepera (2.57 ERA) and one from closer Raisel Iglesias (1.80 ERA).
With the victory, the Halos secured the American League's best record (8-5), after taking two out of three from Houston on the road.
They'll have Thursday off before hosting the Baltimore Orioles (4-8) in a three-game series, the first leg of a seven game home stand.