UNDATED (AP) — Shohei Ohtani struggled in his first two starts this season, but the Los Angeles Angels hurler was sharp on Wednesday.
Ohtani starred on the mound and at the plate in the Angels’ 6-0 shutout of the Astros. He pitched perfect ball into the sixth inning, tied a career-best with 12 strikeouts and also had two hits and two RBIs. Ohtani didn’t allow a baserunner until Jason Castro lined a single to center field with one out in the sixth for his first hit of the season.
The reigning AL Most Valuable Player was 0-2 with a 7.56 ERA entering the game.
In other MLB action:
— Raimel Tapia’s first home run and RBIs of the season gave the Blue Jays the lead for good in a 6-1 win at Boston. Toronto scored five times in the second off Nick Pivetta, beginning with Tapia’s two-run shot. Bo Bichette also had two RBIs in the inning.
— Miguel Cabrera had three hits to move one shy of 3,000 in the Tigers’ 5-3 loss to the Yankees. Cabrera beat out an infield hit in the second inning and singled up the middle of the fourth against Luis Severino, then grounded a single through the shortstop hole in the sixth off Chad Green. Anthony Rizzo hit a solo homer, drove in two and scored twice to back Luis Severino, who allowed one run over five innings.
— José Ramírez launched his second grand slam of the season while the Guardians erupted for nine runs in the second inning of a Game 1 rout of the White Sox, 11-1. The Guardians delivered eight straight hits off Dallas Keuchel, who was rocked for a career-high 10 rebounds and 10 hits before leaving with nobody out in the second inning. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber won for the first time since June 8, 2021, allowing one run and four hits in six innings.
— Ramirez also provided an RBI double in Game 2 as the Indians came away with a 2-1 victory. He’s the second player to collect at least 20 RBIs in his team’s first 11 games, and the first since Manny Ramirez for Cleveland in 1999.
— The Orioles were 1-0 winners over the Athletics as Jordan Lyles limited Oakland to five hits over five innings. Ryan McKenna scored Baltimore’s only run on a fielding error by Athletics shortstop Elvis Andrus in the fifth inning. A’s right-hander Daulton Jefferies allowed three hits and just that unearned run for innings.
— Francisco Mejia homered and drove in three runs to help the Rays beat the Cubs, 8-2, a game that was called after 5 1/2 innings due to rain. Josh Lowe had a triple, double and RBI as Tampa Bay climbed back over .500 with its third win in four games. Randy Arozarena, Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier each doubled in runs to help the Rays finish 3-3 in Chicago.
— Daniel Lynch allowed four hits while pitching into the sixth inning of the Royals’ 4-0 shutout of the Twins. Lynch never allowed a runner to reach third, getting plenty of help from one of two big league defenses that have yet to commit an error this season. Kansas City’s bullpen extended its scoreless streak to 17 1/3 innings.
— Logan Gilbert pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Adam Frazier went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles as the Mariners doubled up the Rangers, 4-2. Seattle was missing manager Scott Servais, third-base coach Manny Acta and assistant coach Andy Bissell along with right fielder Mitch Haniger, catcher Luis Torrens and reliever Paul Sewald due to positive COVID-19 tests. The Rangers turned a triple play in the first inning but fell to 2-9, their worst 11-game start since opening 1-10 in 1987.
— Freddie Freeman homered against his former team for the second time in three days, helping the Dodgers take a 5-1 decision over Atlanta. Freeman went 3-for-4 as the Dodgers grabbed the rubber match of the three-game set. Tony Gonsolin tossed one-hit ball over six innings, putting up zeroes in the hit column until Manny Piña’s infield single leading off the sixth.
— Brandon Belt homered on his 34th birthday and Carlos Rodon blanked the Mets on three hits over five innings to lead the Giants to a 5-2 victory. Rodon has 29 strikeouts in 17 innings this season after fanning eight more at Citi Field. Chris Bassitt was tagged for five runs in six innings after yielding three hits or fewer in his previous six starts dating to last season.
— The Padres handed Cincinnati its ninth straight loss as Jurickson Profar threw out Joey Votto at the plate and belted a two-run homer in a 6-0 win over the Reds. Profar’s fourth-inning gave rookie MacKenzie Gore all the backing he needed for his first major league victory in two starts. The left-hander held the Reds to four hits while striking out seven over five innings.
— Seth Beer’s three hits and three RBIs propelled the dormant Diamondbacks to an 11-2 thrashing of the Nationals. Arizona carried a .156 batting average and hadn’t score more than five runs this year before torching Erick Fedde for six earned runs over 3 1/3 innings. Daulton Varsho smacked a two-run homer and had three ribbies for the DBacks.
— The Cardinals came away with a 2-0 win over the Marlins on Nolan Arenado’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth. Arenado struck out in his first three at bats before smacking his fifth home run of the year. St. Louis pulled out its ninth straight win over Miami after Marlins hurler Sandy Alcantara helped the Redbirds to four hits over eight innings.
— The Brewers completed a three-game sweep as Brandon Woodruff took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of their 4-2 victory against Pittsburgh. Woodruff struck out nine and allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, one start after blanking St. Louis for five frames. Rowdy Tellez homered for the second straight day and Keston Hiura extended Milwaukee’s lead to 4-0 with a three-run shot in the seventh.
— The Phillies halted a three-game skid by slamming four home runs in a 9-6 decision over the Rockies in Colorado. Johan Camargo had four hits, including a three-run home run in a five-run seventh inning. Kyle Schwarber added a rare homer into the right field third deck at Coors Field, and Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm also went deep to help the Phils win for just the second time in their last nine games.
