Shohei Ohtani slugged his 20th and 21st homers of the season Friday, the fourth multi-homer game of his career, as the Los Angeles Angels blew out the Detroit Tigers 11-3 in Anaheim, California.
Ohtani¡¯s 400-foot shot in the fifth inning left the bat at 114 mph before clearing the wall in right-center, highlighting a five-run rally. It was sandwiched by Luis Rengifo¡¯s first homer, a solo shot to right-center, and Jared Walsh¡¯s 16th, a two-run clout to right-center that capped the outburst. Ohtani polished off another big evening by cracking a two-out solo shot to left-center in the eighth against Joe Jimenez. The 408-foot shot had an estimated exit velocity of 109 mph.
Walsh¡¯s blast ended the night for Detroit starter Jose Urena, who dropped to 2-7 after being blasted for seven hits and seven runs in 4? innings. Urena walked three and struck out four.
Alex Cobb (5-2) worked 5? innings to earn the win, giving up just three hits and an unearned run in a 111-pitch outing. Cobb issued two walks and whiffed eight.
Justin Upton helped lead the Angels¡¯ 13-hit onslaught by going 3-for-4, scoring three runs, drawing a walk and knocking in a run with a sixth-inning single. Taylor Ward collected three hits and drove in three runs.
Los Angeles started the scoring in the second inning when Kean Wong grounded a single up the middle to score Max Stassi. An inning later, Ward laced an 0-2 pitch to left for a double that chased Upton home for a 2-0 advantage.
After the Angels put the game away in the fifth, they added three runs in the sixth. The big hit was Ward¡¯s two-run double to the wall in left-center that made it 10-1.
Miguel Cabrera, Willi Castro and Robbie Grossman knocked in runs for the Tigers. Cabrera and Nomar Mazara each collected two of Detroit¡¯s six hits.
Elsewhere, Yusei Kikuchi pitched seven strong innings Friday night as the Seattle Mariners sent the visiting Tampa Bay Rays to their fourth consecutive defeat, 5-1.
Ty France had three hits including a double, and Luis Torrens drove in two runs for the Mariners, who won for the fifth time in their past six games to reach the .500 mark.
Kikuchi (4-3) allowed one run on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts. It was the eighth quality start in the past nine appearances for the left-hander ¡ª the lone blemish in that stretch was a game in which he was knocked out in the fifth inning when taking a hard one-hopper off his right knee.
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