Twins drop three of four to Angels
Jul. 25—For a time, there was a chance that there would be a double dose of Shohei Ohtani on Sunday afternoon.
Had the Angels kept him out on regular rest, the two-way sensation would have been in line to start Sunday against the Twins. That didn't happen, with the Angels instead pushing him back a day.
But he still put on a show Sunday, hitting the go-ahead home run, his league-leading 35th of the year, in the Angels' 6-2 win over the Twins. The Angels added three insurance runs in the ninth inning. A day after going 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles, Ohtani finished Sunday's game 2 for 3 with the home run, a stolen base and an intentional walk.
The intentional walk in the eighth inning was met by a chorus of boos from the Target Field crowd, more than a few of whom wore Angels jerseys bearing his last name.
Ohtani's home run, which put the Angels on top for good in the sixth inning, came immediately after rookie Bailey Ober's removal. Ober was just two outs away from a quality start, giving up two runs in his 5 1/3 innings pitched on just three hits.
While Ober pitched well enough to earn a win, the offense behind him was held quiet by Jaime Barria, who was recalled Sunday to start against the Twins as the Angels moved Ohtani back.
Things couldn't have started out any better for the Twins as Max Kepler took one out to right and on the very next pitch, rookie Brent Rooker reached the third deck in left field. But the Twins offense managed just two more hits in the game, as they dropped three of four games to the Angels.
