Shohei Ohtani tossed the first complete-game shutout of his career, Taylor Ward hit two homers and the visiting Los Angeles Angels blanked the Detroit Tigers 6-0 in the opener of a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon.
Ohtani (9-5) allowed only one hit — a Kerry Carpenter single in the fifth. He walked three and struck out eight. Ohtani had never previously pitched more than eight innings.
Ohtani’s scheduled start was moved up from Friday after the second game of the series was postponed due to inclement weather. He was reportedly taken off the trade market on Wednesday.
Ward drove in three runs, as did Trey Cabbage. Mike Moustakas scored a pair of runs for Los Angeles, which has won seven of its last eight games.
Detroit starter Michael Lorenzen (5-7) gave up three runs and five hits while striking out seven in five innings.
Angels 11, Tigers 4 (Game 2)
Shohei Ohtani hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs before departing with cramping as Los Angeles completed a doubleheader sweep with a victory over host Detroit.
Ohtani hit his major league leading 37th and 38th home runs but grabbed his side after the latter homer. Ohtani tossed the first complete game shutout of his career in the Angels’ 6-0 victory earlier in the day. He allowed only one hit and struck out eight.
Hunter Renfroe had three hits, including a homer, and drove in two runs in the nightcap for the Angels, who have won eight of their last nine games. Matt Thaiss and Luis Rengifo drove in two runs apiece and Eduardo Escobar added a solo home run. Angels starter Patrick Sandoval (6-7) gave up two runs and five hits in five innings.
Cubs 10, Cardinals 3
Justin Steele earned his fourth victory over St. Louis this season as visiting Chicago extended its winning streak to six games.
Steele (11-3) allowed one run on five hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out four. Yan Gomes drove in three runs, while Mike Tauchman had a homer, two singles and two RBIs for the Cubs.
Andrew Knizner hit two homers and drove in three runs for the Cardinals, whose starting pitcher, Miles Mikolas (6-6), was ejected in the first inning after throwing one pitch up and in to the Cubs’ Ian Happ, then hitting him on the hip on the next pitch. Happ had earlier connected with catcher Willson Contreras’ head on an errant backswing, causing a scalp laceration and the catcher’s exit.
Guardians 6, White Sox 3
Josh Naylor doubled twice and drove in three and five teammates had two hits each as visiting Cleveland defeated skidding Chicago.
The Guardians won for the fifth time in seven games to move over the .500 mark. The White Sox took their sixth straight loss despite getting two homers from Jake Burger.
Cleveland rookie Tanner Bibee (7-2) scattered three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Emmanuel Clase worked around consecutive two-out singles in the ninth for his 28th save.
Mets 2, Nationals 1
Daniel Vogelbach and Mark Canha each had an RBI during a rain-delayed eighth inning for host New York, which beat Washington in the opener of a four-game series.
With Washington up 1-0, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso singled with one out off Mason Thompson before Vogelbach hit the game-tying single, after which DJ Stewart was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A rain delay of 1 hour, 37 minutes followed. When play resumed, Canha greeted reliever Kyle Finnegan by hitting a sacrifice fly, scoring Alonso.
David Peterson (3-7) tossed two scoreless innings of relief for the Mets, who are 6-6 since the All-Star break. Brooks Raley earned his second save by working around a two-out walk in the ninth. Keibert Ruiz lofted a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for the Nationals, who lost for just the second time in seven games.
–Field Level Media