Shohei Ohtani homers twice, including career longest, as Angels rout White Sox
Shohei Ohtani homered in consecutive innings, including a 459-foot drive that was the longest of his Major League Baseball career, and drove in four runs to lead the Angels over the Chicago White Sox 12-5 Wednesday.
Mike Trout put the Angels ahead 2-0 with a 476-foot home run in the first that was four rows shy of clearing the left-field bleachers. Taylor Ward also went deep as the Angels hit four two-run homers plus a solo shot.
“Those are the guys you lean on,” manager Phil Nevin said. “They can certainly put the team on their backs and carry us and that’s what they did today.”
Ohtani drove a first-pitch fastball from Lance Lynn (4-6) just to left of straightaway center in the third, where the ball was dropped by a fan who tried to glove it. That 425-foot drive put the Angels ahead 4-1.
Lynn didn’t even bother to turn and look when Ohtani hit a full-count fastball more than a dozen rows over the bullpen in right center in the fourth. The two-way Japanese star is batting .269 with 15 homers and 38 RBIs to go along with a 5-1 record and 2.91 ERA.
“I’m feeling good right now,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I’m putting good swings on pitches I should be hitting hard.”
Ohtani increased his career total to 13 multihomer games with his first this season.
Trout pulled a hanging curve for his 13th home run. Ward hit a two-run homer against Jesse Scholtens in the seventh and Chad Wallach, pinch hitting for Ohtani, had a solo homer in the ninth off Garrett Crochet.
“Usually when that happens, we’re in a good spot to win,” Trout said.
Trout and Ohtani have homered in the same game for the fifth time this season. The Angels hit a pair of 450-foot or more home runs in the same game for the first time since Statcast started tracking in 2015.
Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani both homered, but the Chicago White Sox used a five-run fourth inning to come on top against the Angels 7-3 on Tuesday.
Lynn allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks while hitting two batters in four innings, raising his ERA to 6.55. He has given up 15 home runs, one short of the major league high of Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles. Lynn had won his previous three starts.
“It seemed like he didn’t get away with any today,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “Just one of those days, man.”
Jaime Barria (2-2) gave up one run and four hits in five innings with six strikeouts and two walks.
The Angels took two of three from the White Sox after being swept by Miami last weekend.
Jake Burger homered for Chicago, which has lost four of five. Burger hit his 11th homer in the ninth and Hanser Alberto had a two-run double off Tucker Davidson.
Chicago’s Romy Gonzalez, who’d homered in three straight games, went 0 for four with two strikeouts.
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