Friday, June 9, 2023 09:38 PM (ET)

Shohei Ohtani stars at plate, not on mound, as Angels top M's

Field Level Media
Jun 10, 2023

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

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