Shohei Ohtani batted cleanup for the first time on Sunday but Johnny Cueto struck him out twice and pitched six shutout innings in the San Francisco Giants' 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

After he struck out swinging twice against the Dominican right-hander, Ohtani singled to right in the bottom of the sixth to load the bases, but Angels first baseman Luis Valbuena grounded out into an inning-ending double play to leave the score at 4-0.

"It so happened to be a game that (Albert) Pujols sat out so I moved into the fourth spot in the order. I wasn't expecting it," said Ohtani, who batted cleanup in nine games during his five seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.

"He is as wonderful a pitcher as I imagined. I was amazed at his pitching accuracy," he said of Cueto, the majors' ERA leader with 0.35.

(Shohei Ohtani singles in the sixth inning against the Giants on Sunday.)

Cueto (2-0) took a no hitter into the sixth and ended up yielding only two hits and striking out seven in a 96-pitch effort, while Los Angeles starter Jaime Barria (1-1) lasted only two innings. Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run third for the Giants and Brandon Belt made it 4-0 on a solo shot in the fifth.

Ohtani grounded out in his fourth and final at-bat in the eighth. Before Sunday, the 23-year-old rookie batted twice in the No. 6 spot, once at No. 7 and six times in the eighth hole.

Ohtani, who exited his previous outing on Tuesday after two innings with a blister on his middle finger, is listed as the Angels' starter for Tuesday night at the Houston Astros. He will be pitching on six days' rest.

FACTFILE: Everything you need to know about Shohei Ohtani

At the Globe Life Park in Arlington, Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-3 with two infield singles for his third multihit game this season, but the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 7-4 to avoid a series sweep.

Suzuki also drew a pair of walks, the first off Texas starter Martin Perez, to reach base four times in five plate appearances. Perez (2-2) limited the damage to two runs and seven hits in six innings of work for the win.

"I love the view from right field," said Suzuki, who started in right field for the first time this season.