LDN - Sports

MLB roundup: Ohtani shrugs off surgery talk, homers twice

[September 06, 2018] Just a few hours after it was recommended to Shohei Ohtani that he have Tommy John surgery, the two-way player homered twice, singled twice and led the Los Angeles Angels to a 9-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.

An MRI exam Wednesday morning revealed new damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in Ohtani's right elbow, and the club would like the 24-year-old right-hander to have surgery that likely would keep him off a major league mound until the 2020 season. Ohtani, who hasn't yet decided whether he'll have the surgery, is not affected by the injury when he hits, and Wednesday's game was a perfect example.

He walked in the first inning, had an infield single in the third, homered to lead off the fifth, singled to lead off the seventh and hit a two-run homer in the eighth while batting third in the Angels' lineup as the designated hitter. His home runs were Nos. 17 and 18 for the season, tied for the most by a Japanese-born rookie in the majors (Kenji Johjima in 2006).

Ohtani scored four runs, drove in three and had a stolen base.

Rockies 5, Giants 3

Trevor Story produced the first three-homer game of his career, and surging Colorado beat San Francisco in Denver to complete a three-game sweep.

Story's big night off starter Andrew Suarez (6-10) helped the Rockies earn their fifth straight win and increase their lead in the National League West to 1 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers and two games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Story's second home run, hit in the fourth inning, went an estimated 505 feet, according to Statcast. It is the longest home run in franchise history and the longest since Statcast began measuring home run distances in 2015. It was also the longest homer hit at Coors Field in its 24-year history.

Mets 7, Dodgers 3

Zack Wheeler pitched seven strong innings, and Wilmer Flores drove in two runs as New York cruised to victory at Los Angeles.

Wheeler (10-7) gave up three runs on three hits with nine strikeouts, ending his streak of holding opponents to two earned runs or fewer at eight consecutive outings. Wheeler had held his last four opponents to one earned run or none.

Max Muncy hit a two-run home run for the Dodgers, his 32nd of the season. Los Angeles lost for just the third time in its past 12 games but fell for the second time in three games.

Red Sox 9, Braves 8

Brandon Phillips hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning in his Boston debut, allowing the American League East leaders to complete a three-game sweep at Atlanta.

After rallying from a 7-1 deficit with a six-run top of the eighth, only to fall behind again by virtue of a Freddie Freeman home run in the bottom of the inning, the Red Sox flipped things again in the ninth after Andrew Benintendi drew a one-out walk from A.J. Minter, the Braves' sixth pitcher. Minter (4-3) got a second out but then served up Phillips' first home run of the season in just his fifth major league plate appearance.

Craig Kimbrel worked around a two-out walk in the last of the ninth to register his 38th save. Teams had been 0-487 this season when down by six or more runs entering the eighth inning before the Red Sox's rally.

Athletics 8, Yankees 2

Oakland celebrated the induction of its first class of its Hall of Fame with a four-run first inning that led to a victory over visiting New York.

The win was the second in three games against the Yankees for the A's, who moved within 3 1/2 games in the race for the first wild-card spot in the American League and the home-field advantage in the single-elimination playoff game.

Luis Severino (17-7) lasted just 2 2/3 innings for the Yankees, who lost for the sixth time in their past 10 games.

Astros 9, Twins 1

Alex Bregman homered for the fourth time in five games, and Houston completed a three-game home sweep of Minnesota.

Bregman, who had his streak of consecutive games with a homer snapped at three on Tuesday despite hitting three doubles in the that game, knocked in five runs Wednesday. He smashed a two-run homer to left field with two outs in the third inning, and he added a three-run double in the eighth.

Houston's Jose Altuve snapped an 0-for-19 skid with an RBI double in the sixth that scored George Springer, who went 3-for-5 with three runs. The Astros extended their winning streak to five games and capped a 10-game homestand at 7-3.

Cubs 6, Brewers 4

Daniel Murphy and Kyle Schwarber hit home runs, and Ben Zobrist added two RBIs to back left-hander Jose Quintana as Chicago avoided a three-game sweep with a win at Milwaukee.

The second-place Brewers fell four games behind the Cubs in the National League Central, but they are still clinging to the top spot in the NL wild-card race by a half-game over St. Louis.

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Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee put its first two runners on in the ninth against Cubs reliever Pedro Strop, but he came back to get a flyout, a forceout and a strikeout to notch his 12th save. Quintana (12-9) pitched around a few trouble spots to go 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits.

Cardinals 7, Nationals 6

Matt Adams homered twice, including a three-run shot in the first inning, and drove in four runs as St. Louis edged host Washington.

St. Louis' offensive power helped starter Miles Mikolas (14-4) on a night when the Nationals cut an early 7-1 deficit to just one -- but the Cardinals held on. Mikolas gave up four runs and scattered 12 hits through 6 2/3 innings.

Carlos Martinez took care of the final two innings and earned his first save this season since being converted into a reliever down the stretch.

Marlins 2, Phillies 1

Rookie Sandy Alcantara earned his second win in his second major league start, pitching seven scoreless innings and leading Miami to victory over visiting Philadelphia.

Rookie Austin Dean supported Alcantara (2-0) by driving in both of Miami's runs.

The Phillies failed to take advantage of the last-place Marlins in the three-game series, losing twice. Philadelphia, in second place in the National League East, sits three games behind the Atlanta Braves.

Indians 3, Royals 1

Corey Kluber allowed a run on just two hits to become the first 18-game winner in the major leagues, and Edwin Encarnacion's fifth-inning RBI groundout produced the deciding run as Cleveland fended off visiting Kansas City.

Kluber struck out 10 and walked just one in 6 2/3 innings, leaving with a runner at first base in the seventh. Oliver Perez struck out the Royals' Brian Goodwin to end the inning.

Cody Allen struck out two batters in a perfect eighth inning, and Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 32nd save and give the Indians the rubber game of the three-game series.

Mariners 5, Orioles 2

Mike Leake didn't allow an earned run in six innings, and Seattle hit three solo home runs to defeat visiting Baltimore.

Mitch Haniger, Nelson Cruz and Denard Span homered for Seattle, which took two of three games in the series. Edwin Diaz earned his 53rd save of the season.

Leake (9-9) allowed two unearned runs on seven hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four. Leake won for the first time in 12 starts dating to late June. He was 0-5 during that stretch.

Pirates 3, Reds 2

Colin Moran hit an RBI double, and Gregory Polanco and Francisco Cervelli each drove in a run with a single as host Pittsburgh topped Cincinnati to complete a three-game series sweep.

The Pirates improved to 12-4 against the Reds this season.

Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon (12-9) extended his streak of starts with three earned runs allowed or fewer to 18, even though he wasn't at his sharpest. He gave up one run and eight hits in five innings, with six strikeouts and no walks.

Blue Jays 10, Rays 3

Aledmys Diaz hit a three-run home run in a seven-run first inning, and Toronto went on to defeat visiting Tampa Bay to avoid a three-game series sweep.

Billy McKinney added a solo homer for the Blue Jays, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Devon Travis and Kendrys Morales each had three hits and an RBI.

Kevin Kiermaier homered twice for the Rays.

Tigers 10, White Sox 2

Ronny Rodriguez and JaCoby Jones hit back-to-back homers during a six-run fourth inning, and Detroit battered host Chicago.

The game was interrupted by a 28-minute rain delay in the second inning and a 33-minute delay in the fifth.

Mikie Mahtook also homered during the big inning, and Jeimer Candelario had a solo shot along with two other hits while scoring twice. Jim Adduci and Nicholas Castellanos contributed three hits apiece and combined for three runs and two RBIs for the Tigers.

--Field Level Media

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