ANAHEIM — This time, the heart of the order got the job done.
Two innings after the Angels’ big hitters had struck out three times in a row to waste an opportunity, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon delivered clutch hits in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Angels to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Angels trailed 4-2 heading to the bottom of the ninth, having come up empty in a few key spots throughout the afternoon. In the seventh, they had wasted a leadoff single when Mike Trout, Ohtani and Rendon all struck out.
In the ninth, pinch-hitter Luis Rengifo drew a one-out walk, in his first trip to the plate of the season. Ward then poked his second hit of the day into right field.
Trout struck out, bringing Ohtani to the plate as the Angels’ final hope.
Ohtani lost his balance on his a huge cut on the first pitch against Tanner Rainey. Ohtani then got a slider and he hammered it to straightaway center field, narrowly missing a game-winning homer. He settled for a game-tying double.
Rendon then drilled the second pitch he saw into center field, and Ohtani hustled around to slide home just before the throw, capping the victory.
Related Articles
Angels’ David Fletcher back on injured list, surgery possible
Nationals use three home runs to halt Angels’ winning streak at three
Angels lose Kurt Suzuki to injured list, bring up Chad Wallach
Taylor Ward sparks Angels’ lineup and 5 pitchers shut out Nationals
Jhonathan Diaz gets his first shot in Angels’ starting rotation
The late rally took Patrick Sandoval off the hook for the loss on a day that he was charged with three runs in 5-2/3 innings, an uneven outing that was better than his final line.
Sandoval had allowed just one run through five innings, escaping the second with the help of a double play and the third when shortstop Andrew Velazquez dove over the middle. Velazquez snagged the grounder and flipped the ball behind his back to second. A run scored on the play, but Velazquez’s stop limited the damage.
In the sixth, Nelson Cruz led off with a broken bat single. An out later, Maikel Franco hit a popup to the right side. It dropped for a single because the Angels had a shift on Franco. A run scored on a sacrifice fly, and the second run scored on a single against reliever Mike Mayers.
More to come on this story.